Illumination device and electronic apparatus

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to an illumination device. When the light from the, light emitting element is guided to the first illuminating portion of the light guide plate, the light is radiated from the whole upper surface of the first illuminating portion to illuminate the upper surface side of the light guide plate. Also, when the light from the light emitting element is guided to the second illuminating portion of the light guide plate, the light is radiated from the whole lower surface of the second illuminating portion to illuminate the lower surface side of the light guide plate. The upper and lower surface sides of the light guide plate can be excellently illuminated with one light guide plate.

This application is a U.S. National Phase Application under 35 USC 371of International Application PCT/JP03/15876 filed Dec. 11, 2003.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an illumination device which is usefulfor applying to various apparatuses such as a wristwatch, a cellularphone and a gauge for automobile, and an electronic apparatus using theillumination device.

BACKGROUND ART

For example, a wristwatch which has an analogue display function formoving a hand above a dial, and a digital function for electroopticallydisplaying information such as time by a display element such as aliquid crystal display element has been well known. Both of the analogueand the digital functions are illuminated by one illumination device.

The wristwatch of this type is provided with a light guide plate on alower side of a transparent or translucent dial, which receives light ofa light-emitting diode from a side surface to guide the light in asurface direction of the light guide plate. The liquid crystal displayelement is disposed in the lower side of a notch-for-displaycorresponding to a display window portion of the dial. When making thelight emitting diode emit light in this state, the light is received inthe light guide plate and is guided in the surface direction. Thisguided light is radiated from the upper surface of the light guide plateand the end surface of the notch-for-display of the light guide plate,thereby illuminating the upper side thereof through the dial and also,illuminating the liquid crystal display element from periphery thereof.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

However, in the wristwatch of this type, since the light guided in thelight guide plate is radiated from the upper surface, although the uppersurface side can be equally illuminated, a surface emission cannot beperformed at the notch-for-display. Therefore, the light guided in thelight guide plate is radiated from the end surface of thenotch-for-display to illuminate the liquid crystal display element fromperiphery. Thus, there is a problem that the whole upper surface of theliquid crystal display element cannot be illuminated excellently.

An object of the present invention is to illuminate the upper and lowersurface sides of the light guide plate excellently by performing surfaceemission with one light guide plate.

Another object of the present invention is to illuminate the wholedisplay member such as the dial or the like approximately equally byperforming surface emission from the light guide plate without anylimitation for material of the display member.

To achieve the above object, the illumination device according to thepresent invention, in which light from a light source enters a lightguide plate from a side surface thereof and is guided in a surfacedirection in the light guide plate to perform a surface emission fromthe light guide plate for illuminating a display member: wherein thelight guide plate comprises a first illuminating portion for guidinglight from the light source in the surface direction and radiating thelight toward an upper surface side of the light guide plate, and asecond illuminating portion for guiding light from the light source inthe surface direction and radiating the light toward a lower surfaceside of the light guide plate; and the display member is disposed ineach of the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the lightguide plate.

The illumination device according to another invention, in which lightfrom a light source enters a light guide plate from a side surfacethereof and is guided in a surface direction in the light guide plate toperform a surface emission from the light guide plate for illuminating adisplay member: wherein the light guide plate has a light transmissionproperty in a thickness direction thereof, a plurality of line-shapedprisms having reflection surfaces for reflecting light guided in thelight guide plate in a surface direction toward a lower surface side ofthe light guide plate are formed on a whole upper surface of the lightguide plate, and the display member is disposed at least in a lowersurface side of the light guide plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the first embodiment in which the presentinvention is applied to a wristwatch;

FIG. 2 is an expanded sectional view taken along the line II—II in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is an expanded sectional view taken along the line III—III inFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front view showing an expanded watch module in FIGS. 2 and3;

FIG. 5 is an expanded sectional view of a light guide plate taken alongthe line IV—IV in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an expanded sectional view showing a liquid crystal displayelement of FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 7 is an expanded front view of a watch module showing a firstmodification of the first embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line V—V in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of an expanded light guide plate of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an expanded front view of a watch module showing a secondmodification of the first embodiment;

FIG. 11 is an expanded sectional view of a light guide plate taken alongthe line VI—VI in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is an expanded front view of a watch module showing a thirdmodification of the first embodiment;

FIG. 13 is an expanded sectional view of a light guide plate taken alongthe line VII—VII in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is an expanded front view of a watch module in the secondembodiment in which the present invention is applied to a wristwatch;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII—VIII in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is an expanded sectional view of a light guide plate taken alongthe line VIII—VIII in FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is an expanded sectional view showing a second illuminatingportion of a light guide plate taken along the line IX—IX in FIG. 14;

FIG. 18 is a view showing a state of generation of a bright linespectrum in the first embodiment;

FIG. 19 is an expanded front view of a watch module in the thirdembodiment in which the present invention is applied to a wristwatch;

FIG. 20 is a sectional view taken along the line X—X in FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is an expanded sectional view of a light guide plate taken alongthe line X—X in FIG. 19;

FIG. 22 is an expanded sectional view showing a second illuminatingportion of a light guide plate taken along the line XI—XI in FIG. 19;

FIG. 23 is an expanded front view of a watch module in the fourthembodiment in which the present invention is applied to a wristwatch;

FIG. 24 is a sectional view taken along the line XII—XII in FIG. 23;

FIG. 25 is an expanded sectional view showing a second illuminatingportion of a light guide plate taken along the line XIII—XIII in FIG.23;

FIG. 26 is an expanded front view of a watch module in the fifthembodiment in which the present invention is applied to a wristwatch;

FIG. 27 is a sectional view taken along the line XIV—XIV in FIG. 26;

FIG. 28 is an expanded sectional view of a light guide plate taken alongthe line XIV—XIV in FIG. 26;

FIG. 29 is an expanded sectional view of a watch module showing a fourthmodification of the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 30 is an expanded front view of a watch module in the sixthembodiment in which the present invention is applied to a wristwatch;

FIG. 31 is a sectional view taken along the line XV—XV in FIG. 30;

FIG. 32 is an expanded sectional view of a light guide plate taken alongthe line XV—XV in FIG. 30;

FIG. 33 is an expanded front view of a watch module in the seventhembodiment in which the present invention is applied to a wristwatch;

FIG. 34 is a sectional view taken along the line XVI—XVI in FIG. 33;

FIG. 35 is an expanded sectional view of a light guide plate taken alongthe line XVI—XVI in FIG. 33;

FIG. 36 is an expanded sectional view showing a first liquid crystaldisplay element of FIG. 34;

FIG. 37 is an expanded front view showing the eighth embodiment in whichthe present invention is applied to a cellular phone;

FIG. 38 is a partially broken expanded side view of FIG. 37;

FIG. 39 is a front view showing the ninth embodiment in which thepresent invention is applied to a wristwatch;

FIG. 40 is an expanded sectional view taken along the line XVII—XVII inFIG. 39;

FIG. 41 is an expanded sectional view of a light guide plate taken alongthe line XVII—XVII in FIG. 39;

FIG. 42 is an expanded sectional view of a main portion showing a liquidcrystal display element of FIG. 40;

FIG. 43 is an expanded front view of a watch module showing a firstmodification of the ninth embodiment;

FIG. 44 is an expanded sectional view of a watch module taken along theline XVIII—XVIII in FIG. 43;

FIG. 45 is an expanded sectional view of a light guide plate taken alongthe line XVIII—XVIII in FIG. 43;

FIG. 46 is an expanded front view of a watch module in the tenthembodiment in which the present invention is applied to a wristwatch;

FIG. 47 is an expanded sectional view of a watch module taken along theline XIX—XIX in FIG. 46;

FIG. 48 is an expanded sectional view of a light guide plate taken alongthe line XX—XX in FIG. 46;

FIG. 49 is a view showing a state of generation of a bright linespectrum in the ninth embodiment of FIG. 39;

FIG. 50 is an expanded front view of a watch module showing a secondmodification of the tenth embodiment;

FIG. 51 is an expanded sectional view of a light guide plate taken alongthe line XXI—XXI in FIG. 50;

FIG. 52 is an expanded front view of a watch module in the eleventhembodiment in which the present invention is applied to a wristwatch;

FIG. 53 is an expanded sectional view of a watch module taken along theline XXII—XXII in FIG. 52;

FIG. 54 is an expanded sectional view of a light guide plate taken alongthe line XXIII—XXIII in FIG. 52;

FIG. 55 is an expanded front view of a watch module in the twelfthembodiment in which the present invention is applied to a wristwatch;

FIG. 56 is an expanded sectional view of a watch module taken along theline XXIV—XXIV in FIG. 55;

FIG. 57 is a sectional view of further expanded main portion in FIG. 56;

FIG. 58 is a view showing a state of generation of a bright linespectrum in FIG. 55;

FIG. 59 is an expanded sectional view of a main portion showing athrough hole in a light guide plate of a third modification in thetwelfth embodiment;

FIG. 60 is an expanded front view of a watch module in the thirteenthembodiment in which the present invention is applied to a wristwatch;

FIG. 61 is an expanded sectional view of a watch module taken along theline XXV—XXV in FIG. 60;

FIG. 62 is an expanded sectional view of a light guide plate taken alongthe line XXV—XXV in FIG. 60;

FIG. 63 is an expanded sectional view of a light guide plate taken alongthe line XXVI—XXVI in FIG. 60;

FIG. 64 is an expanded sectional view of a watch module showing a fourthmodification of the thirteenth embodiment;

FIG. 65 is an expanded front view of a watch module in the fourteenthembodiment in which the present invention is applied to a wristwatch;

FIG. 66 is an expanded sectional view of a watch module taken along theline XXVII—XXVII in FIG. 65;

FIG. 67 is an expanded sectional view of a light guide plate taken alongthe line XXVIII—XXVIII in FIG. 65;

FIG. 68 is an expanded front view of a watch module in the fifteenthembodiment in which the present invention is applied to a wristwatch;

FIG. 69 is an expanded sectional view of a watch module taken along theline XXIX—XXIX in FIG. 68;

FIG. 70 is an expanded front view of a watch module in the sixteenthembodiment in which the present invention is applied to a wristwatch;

FIG. 71 is an expanded sectional view of a watch module taken along theline XXX—XXX in FIG. 70;

FIG. 72 is an expanded sectional view of a light guide plate taken alongthe line XXX—XXX in FIG. 70;

FIG. 73 is an expanded sectional view of a main portion showing a firstliquid crystal display element of a transmission type of FIG. 71;

FIG. 74 is an expanded sectional view of a watch module showing a fifthmodification of the sixteenth embodiment;

FIG. 75 is a partially broken expanded front view showing theseventeenth embodiment in which the present invention is applied to acellular phone; and

FIG. 76 is a partially broken expanded side view of FIG. 75.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[First Embodiment]

The first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to awristwatch will be explained below referring to FIGS. 1–6.

FIG. 1 is a front view of the wristwatch in the present invention, FIG.2 is an expanded sectional view taken along the line II—II in FIG. 1,and FIG. 3 is an expanded sectional view taken along the line III—III inFIG. 1. As shown in FIGS. 1–3, the wristwatch comprises a wristwatchcase 1. The wristwatch case 1 is configured to be provided with firstand second bezels 1 b, 1 c made of synthetic resin on the outerperipheral surface of a case body 1 a made of metal. A watch glass 2 isattached to the upper portion of the wristwatch case 1, and a watchmodule 3 is contained inside the wristwatch case 1. A back lid 4 isattached to the lower portion of the wristwatch case 1 through awaterproof ring 5.

The watch module 3 is configured to have both of an analogue functionand a digital function as well as an illumination device 6. That is, asshown in FIG. 2, the watch module 3 comprises an upper housing 7 and alower housing 8. The upper housing 7 is provided with an analoguemovement 9 and a liquid crystal display element 10, and a circuit board11 is provided between the upper housing 7 and the lower housing 8.Various types of electronic components (not shown) which form anelectronic circuit for electrically driving the analogue movement 9, theliquid crystal display element 10 and the illumination device 6 aremounted on the circuit board 11.

In the analogue movement 9, a hand shaft 12 thereof protrudes upwardthrough each through hole 14 of a light guide plate 24 of theillumination device 6 to be hereinafter described and of a dial 13,which are disposed in the upper side of the upper housing 7, hands 15such as a minute hand, a second hand or the like are attached to theupper end of the protruded hand shaft 12, and these hands 15 move abovethe dial 13. The dial 13 is formed of transparent or translucentmaterial having a light transmission property. As shown in FIGS. 2–5, anopening portion 16 is provided at predetermined position correspondingto the liquid crystal display element 10. A hand display portioncomprises the dial 13 and the hands 15, which corresponds to the firstdisplay member.

As shown in FIG. 6, the liquid crystal display element 10 is of areflection type, which comprises an enclosed liquid crystal (not shown)sandwiched between a pair of transparent upper and lower electrodesubstrates 17, 18, polarizers 19, 20 are provided on the upper surfaceof the upper electrode substrate 17 and the lower surface of the lowerelectrode substrate 18, respectively, and a reflection plate 21 isprovided on the lower surface of the polarizer 20. As shown in FIG. 2,the end of the upper electrode substrate 17 is supported in a state ofbeing electrically connected to the circuit board 11 by aninterconnector 22. In this state, voltage is selectively applied betweenthe pair of upper and lower electrode substrates 17, 18 toelectrooptically display information such as time or the like. Theliquid crystal display element 10 corresponds to the second displaymember.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the illumination device 6 comprises a lightemitting element 23 as a light source, a light guide plate 24 forreceiving light emitted from the light emitting element 23 from the sidesurface to guide the light in the surface direction of the light guideplate 24, and a reflection plate 25 disposed on the lower surface of thelight guide plate 24. The light emitting element 23 comprises a lightemitting diode (LED) or the like which emits light in the visible lightrange and is disposed corresponding to a portion located in the 12o'clock side on the side surface of the light guide plate 24. The leadwire 23 a of the light emitting element 23 is electrically connected tothe circuit board 11 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The light guide plate 24formed of a transparent material makes the light pass through in athickness direction thereof or in up-and-down directions and also,receives light from the light emitting element 23 from the side surfaceto guide the light in the surface direction. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5,the guide plate 24 comprises a first illuminating portion 26 in whichlight from the light emitting element 23 is radiated toward the uppersurface side of the light guide plate 24 and a second illuminatingportion 27 in which light from the light emitting element 23 is radiatedtoward the lower surface side of the light guide plate 24, and isdisposed between the reflection plate 25 on the upper housing 7 and thedial 13.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the first illuminating portion 26 of the lightguide plate 24, a fine concavo-convex portion 28 is formed on the lowersurface of the light guide plate 24. When light emitted from the lightemitting element 23 enters the light guide plate 24 and is guided in thelight guide plate 24, the light is diffusely reflected from theconcavo-convex portion 28 and is radiated from the upper surface of thelight guide plate 24 to perform a surface emission from the uppersurface side of the light guide plate 24. The second illuminatingportion 27 is configured to arrange a plurality of the line-shapedprisms 29 having reflection surfaces 29 a for reflecting light guidedfrom the light guide plate 24 toward the lower surface side of the lightguide plate 24.

Each prism 29 of the second illuminating portion 27 is provided to beperpendicular to the line connecting the light emitting element 23 and aportion of the side surface of the light guide plate 24 which faces thelight emitting element 23, that is, the line connecting 12 o'clock and 6o'clock. The reflection surfaces 29 a of the prisms 29 are provided toface the light emitting element 23 side or 12 o'clock side. Therefore,the light guided from the 12 o'clock side to the second illuminatingportion 27 is reflected toward the lower surface side of the light guideplate 24, and is radiated from the lower surface of the light guideplate 24 to perform the surface emission from the lower surface side ofthe light guide plate 24.

The reflection plate 25 is provided with an opening portion 25 a locatedat a position which corresponds to the liquid crystal display element 10corresponding to the opening portion 16 of the dial 13. The reflectionplate 25 is configured to reflect light radiated from the lower surfaceside of the light guide plate 24 toward the upper surface side excludinga portion corresponding to the opening portion 25 a.

According to the wristwatch, the external light enters the wristwatchcase 1 through the watch glass 2 in a bright place, and this externallight is radiated to the hands 15 and the dial 13. Thus, time can berecognized by the hands 15 and the dial 13. The dial 13 is transparentor translucent and has a light transmission property, so that theexternal light passes through the dial 13 and the opening portion 16thereof to be radiated to the light guide plate 24 of the illuminationdevice 6 from the upper side, and this radiated external light passesthrough the light guide plate 24 from the upper surface side to thelower surface side. In the external light which passes through the lightguide plate 24, the external light radiated to the reflection plate 25disposed on the lower surface of the light guide plate 24 is reflectedfrom the reflection plate 25. This reflected light passes through thelight guide plate 24 and the dial 13 from the lower surface side to theupper surface side again, thereby illuminating the dial 13 and the hands15 above the dial 13.

The external light which passes through the light guide plate 24 fromthe lower surface side to the upper surface side and is radiated to theopening portion 25 a of the reflection plate 25 passes through theopening portion 25 a directly to be radiated to the liquid crystaldisplay element 10, so that the liquid crystal display element 10 can beilluminated. Therefore, information such as time or the like displayedon the liquid crystal display element 10 can be recognized. That is, inthe liquid crystal display element 10, the external light passes throughthe upper polarizer 19, the upper and lower electrode substrates 17, 18and the lower polarizer 20, and is reflected from the reflection plate21. This reflected light passes through a light path which is oppositeto the above, and is radiated to the light guide plate 24 from the lowersurface side of the light guide plate 24 through the opening portion 25a in the reflection plate 25 again. This radiated light passes throughthe light guide plate 24 and the dial 13 from the lower surface side tothe upper surface side to be radiated upward. Thus, information such astime or the like displayed on the liquid crystal display element 10through the watch glass 2 can be recognized from outside of thewristwatch case 1.

When making the light emitting element 23 emit light in a dark place,the light from the light emitting element 23 enters the light guideplate 24 from the side surface, and this entered light is guided in thesurface direction in the light guide plate 24. When this light is guidedto the first illuminating portion 26 of the light guide plate 24, thisguided light is diffusely reflected by the concavo-convex portion 28,and is radiated to the upper surface side of the light guide plate 24.Also, the light leaked from the lower surface side of the light guideplate 24 is reflected upward by the reflection plate 25. Thus, thesurface emission is performed from the whole first illuminating portion26 of the light guide plate 24, and the dial 13 can be illuminated fromthe lower surface side by the surface emission. Moreover, the hands 15which move above the dial 13 can also be illuminated because the lightby the surface emission passes through the dial 13. Therefore, time canbe recognized by the dial 13 and the hands 15 even in the dark place.

When the light from the light emitting element 23 is guided to thesecond illuminating portion 27 of the light guide plate 24 in the darkplace, this guided light is reflected toward the lower surface side ofthe light guide plate 24 from the reflection surfaces 29 a of the eachprism 29 of the second illuminating portion 27. Thus, the surfaceemission is performed from the whole second illuminating portion 27 ofthe light guide plate 24, and this surface-emitted light is radiated tothe whole upper surface of the liquid crystal display element 10 at thelower side of the second illuminating portion 27. Therefore, the wholeliquid crystal display element 10 is illuminated approximately equally.Accordingly, information such as time or the like displayed on theliquid crystal display element 10 can be recognized even in the darkplace.

According to the wristwatch, when making the light emitting element 23emit light in the dark place, the light enters the light guide plate 24from the side surface and is guided in the surface direction in thelight guide plate 24, and the light guided to the first illuminatingportion 26 of the light guide plate 24 is radiated toward the uppersurface side of the light guide plate 24 of the first illuminatingportion 26. Thus, the surface emission is performed from the firstilluminating portion 26 to illuminate the upper surface side of thelight guide plate 24. The light guided to the second illuminatingportion 27 of the light guide plate 24 is radiated toward the lowersurface side of the light guide plate 24 of the second illuminatingportion 27. Thus, the surface emission is performed from the secondilluminating portion 27 to illuminate the lower surface side of thelight guide plate 24. Therefore, both of the upper and lower surfacesides of the light guide plate 24 can be illuminated with one lightguide plate 24. Accordingly, the dial 13 and the hands 15 denoting thefirst display member and the liquid crystal display element 10 denotingthe second display member disposed in each of the upper and lowersurface sides of the light guide plate 24 can be excellentlyilluminated, and time can be recognized in both of the bright and thedark places.

In the wristwatch, since the upper and lower surface sides of the lightguide plate 24 can be illuminated with one light guide plate 24, thereis no need to use a flat backlight device such as an EL element(electroluminescence element) on the lower surface of the liquid crystaldisplay element 10 even when disposing the liquid crystal displayelement 10 on the lower side of the light guide plate 24. Thus, a thinshape and space-saving watch module 3 as a whole can be achieved, sothat the wristwatch as a whole can be a small size and a thin shape.Since the liquid crystal display element 10 can be disposed adjacent tothe second illuminating portion 27 of the light guide plate 24, it canbe suppressed that the outline of information displayed on the liquidcrystal display element 10 by the refraction of light at the light guideplate 24 blurs. Therefore, information displayed on the liquid crystaldisplay element 10 can be clearly recognized.

In the above described first embodiment, it is described about the casewhere the light emitted from the light emitting element 23 runs straightin the light guide plate 24, and is reflected toward the lower surfaceside of the light guide plate 24 by the prisms 29 of the secondilluminating portion 27. However, it is not limited thereto. Forexample, the second illuminating portion 27 of the light guide plate 24may be configured as in the first modification shown in FIGS. 7–9. Thatis, the second illuminating portion 27 in the first modification isprovided with line-shaped prisms 31 on the upper surface of the lightguide plate 24, which is approximately perpendicular to the lineconnecting the light emitting element 23 and a portion of the sidesurface of the light guide plate 24 which faces the light emittingelement 23, that is, the line connecting 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock. Eachreflection surface 31 a of the prisms 31 is provided to face theopposite side of the light emitting element 23 located in the 12 o'clockside, that is, the 6 o'clock side. In this case, a side surfacereflection portion 30 is provided at a portion of the 6 o'clock side onthe outer periphery of the light guide plate 24 which faces the lightemitting element 23 of 12 o'clock side, for example, at a portion on theside surface from 4 o'clock to 8 o'clock through 6 o'clock.

In this configuration, even when the light which runs straight from thelight emitting element 23 continues to run straight and directly reachesthe end surface of the light guide plate 24, the light is reflected fromthe side surface reflection portion 30 provided on the side surface ofthe light guide plate 24 and enters the second illuminating portion 27again. This entered light is reflected from each reflection surface 31 aof the prisms 31 toward the lower surface side of the light guide plate24, so that the lower surface side of the light guide plate 24 can beilluminated. Therefore, as with the first embodiment, the liquid crystaldisplay element 10 can be illuminated by the light from the lightemitting element 23, and the leakage of the light from the side surfaceof the light guide plate 24 can be prevented. Accordingly, the lightfrom the light emitting element 23 can be efficiently utilized tobrightly illuminate the liquid crystal display element 10.

In the above described first embodiment and first modification, thefirst illuminating portion 26 of the light guide plate 24 comprises thefine concavo-convex portion 28 formed on the lower surface of the lightguide plate 24, however, it is not limited thereto. For example, as inthe second modification shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the fineconcavo-convex portion 28 may be formed on the upper surface of thelight guide plate 24. In this configuration, when the light emitted fromthe light emitting element 23 is guided to the first illuminatingportion 26 of the light guide plate 24, the light is diffusely reflectedby the concavo-convex portion 28, and the diffusely reflected light isradiated to the upper and lower surface sides of the light guide plate24. However, the light radiated to the lower surface side is reflectedfrom the reflection plate 25 disposed on the lower surface of the lightguide plate 24. Thus, the upper surface side of the light guide plate 24can be excellently illuminated as with the first embodiment.

In the first embodiment and the first and second modifications, it isdescribed about the case where the first illuminating portion 26 of thelight guide plate 24 comprises the concavo-convex portion 28 formed onthe lower surface or the upper surface of the light guide plate 24.However, it is not limited thereto. For example, the first illuminatingportion 26 may be configured as in the third modification shown in FIGS.12 and 13. That is, the first illuminating portion 26 in the thirdmodification comprises a plurality of the line-shaped prism 32 arrangedon the lower surface of the light guide plate 24. The prisms 32 areprovided to be approximately perpendicular to the line connecting thelight emitting element 23 and a portion of the side surface of the lightguide plate 24 which faces the light emitting element 23, that is, theline connecting 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock.

Reflection surfaces 32 a of the prisms 32 are provided to face the lightemitting element 23 side, that is, the 12 o'clock side. Accordingly, thelight entered the light guide plate 24 from the 12 o'clock side isreflected toward the upper surface side of the light guide plate 24.

In this configuration, when the light emitted from the light emittingelement 23 is guided to the first illuminating portion 26 of the lightguide plate 24, the light is reflected from the reflection surfaces 32 aof the prisms 32 of the first illuminating portion 26 toward the uppersurface side of the light guide plate 24 and the surface emission isperformed from the first illuminating portion 26. The surface-emittedlight is radiated from the upper surface of the light guide plate 24, sothat the upper surface side of the light guide plate 24 can beexcellently illuminated as with the first embodiment.

[Second Embodiment]

The second embodiment in which the present invention is applied to awristwatch will be explained below referring to FIGS. 14–18. Theconstituent elements similar to those of FIGS. 1–6 in the firstembodiment are designated by the same reference numerals forexplanation.

The wristwatch in the embodiment has substantially the sameconfiguration as the first embodiment excluding the configuration of asecond illuminating portion 35 provided in the light guide plate 24 ofthe illumination device 6. That is, the second illuminating portion 35,as shown in FIG. 14, is provided with line-shaped prisms 36, which isapproximately in parallel with the line connecting the light emittingelement 23 and a portion of the side surface of the light guide plate 24which faces the light emitting element 23, that is, the line connecting12 o'clock and 6 o'clock.

Reflection surfaces 36 a of the prisms 36 are provided in the directionwhich is approximately perpendicular to the line connecting 12 o'clockand 6 o'clock, that is, one of the 3 o'clock side and the 9 o'clock side(the 9 o'clock side in the second embodiment). Therefore, the lightradiated in the second illuminating portion 35 from the 9 o'clock sideis reflected toward the lower surface side of the light guide plate 24.In the second illuminating portion 35, the light which enters the lightguide plate 24 from the light emitting element 23 and runs straight inthe light guide plate 24 is hardly reflected from the reflectionsurfaces 36 a of the prisms 36, and continues to run straight.Therefore, a side surface reflection portion 37 is provided at a portionlocated between 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock on the side surface of the lightguide plate 24, which reflects the light which runs straight in thelight guide plate 24 and reaches the end surface of the light guideplate 24 toward the second illuminating portion 35 of the light guideplate 24.

According to the wristwatch, as with the first embodiment, since theexternal light is radiated to the hands 15 and the dial 13, time can berecognized by the hands 15 and the dial 13. The external light radiatedto the dial 13 passes through the dial 13 and the light guide plate 24from the upper surface side to the lower surface side to be reflectedfrom the reflection plate 25, and passes through the opening 25 a of thereflection plate 25 to be radiated to the liquid crystal display element10, so that, as with the first embodiment, information such as time orthe like displayed on the liquid crystal display element 10 can berecognized.

When making the light emitting element 23 emit light in a dark place,the light from the light emitting element 23 enters the light guideplate 24 from the side surface and is guided in the surface direction inthe light guide plate 24. The light guided to the first illuminatingportion 26 of the light guide plate 24 is diffusely reflected by theconcavo-convex portion 28 of the first illuminating portion 26 toperform the surface emission as with the first embodiment. Thesurface-emitted light is radiated toward the upper surface side of thelight guide plate 24, so that the dial 13 and the hands 15 above thedial 13 can be illuminated. The light guided to the second illuminatingportion 35 is not reflected from the reflection surfaces 36 a of eachprism 36 of the second illuminating portion 35, and is directly guidedin the surface direction in the second illuminating portion 35.

That is, each prism 36 of the second illuminating portion 35 isapproximately in parallel with the line connecting the light emittingelement 23 and a portion of the side surface of the light guide plate 24which faces the light emitting element 23, that is, the line connecting12 o'clock and 6 o'clock, so that the light guided to the secondilluminating portion 35 is hardly reflected from the reflection surfaces36 a of the prisms 36, and directly runs straight in the surfacedirection in the second illuminating portion 35. In the light which runsstraight, when the light reflected from the side surface reflectionportion 37 provided at a portion located between 6 o'clock and 9 o'clockon the side surface enters the second illuminating portion 35 again,this entered light is reflected from the reflection surfaces 36 a ofeach prism 36 of the second illuminating portion 35 toward the lowersurface side of the light guide plate 24 to perform the surfaceemission, and the surface-emitted light is radiated to the liquidcrystal display element 10. Thus, information such as time or the likedisplayed on the liquid crystal display element 10 can be recognizedeven in the dark place as described above.

Since the light guided to the second illuminating portion 35 from thelight emitting element 23 directly runs straight in the surfacedirection in the second illuminating portion 35, bright line spectrums38 as shown in FIG. 18 are not generated. That is, when the each prism29 of the second illuminating portion 27 is provided to be perpendicularto the line connecting the light emitting element 23 and a portion ofthe side surface of the light guide plate 24 which faces the lightemitting element 23, that is, the line connecting 12 o'clock and 6o'clock as described in the first embodiment, the light from the lightemitting element 23 is guided to the second illuminating portion 27 andis reflected from the reflection plate 29 a of the each prism 29. Thus,as shown in FIG. 18, when portions from which the light is reflected isseen from a travelling direction of the light, the portions are formedin a shape of dotted-lines and look as the bright line spectrums 38.However, in the second embodiment, since the light guided to the secondilluminating portion 35 from the light emitting element 23 is notreflected from the reflection surfaces 36 a of each prism 36 of thesecond illuminating portion 35 and directly runs straight in the surfacedirection, so that the bright line spectrums 38 are not generated.

According to the wristwatch, when making the light emitting element 23emit light in the dark place, the light is guided to the firstilluminating portion 26 of the light guide plate 24 and is reflectedtoward the upper surface side of the light guide plate 24. Thus, thesurface emission is performed from the first illuminating portion 26 toilluminate the upper surface side of the light guide plate 24. Moreover,the light guided to the second illuminating portion 35 of the lightguide plate 24 and reflected from the side surface reflection portion 37is reflected downward of the light guide plate 24 from the secondilluminating portion 35, so that the surface emission is performed fromthe second illuminating portion 35 to illuminate the lower surface sideof the light guide plate 24. Accordingly, both of the upper and lowersurface sides can be excellently illuminated with one light guide plate24 as with the first embodiment. Therefore, the dial 13 and the hands 15denoting the first display member and the liquid crystal display element10 denoting the second display member which are disposed in each of theupper and lower surface sides of the light guide plate 24 can beexcellently illuminated, and time can be recognized in both of thebright and the dark places. Moreover, a thin shape and space-savingwatch module 3 can be achieved and also, it can be suppressed that theoutline of information displayed on the liquid crystal display element10 by the refraction of light at the light guide plate 24 blurs.Therefore, information on the liquid crystal display element 10 can beclearly recognized.

[Third Embodiment]

The third embodiment in which the present invention is applied to awristwatch will be explained below referring to FIGS. 19–22. Theconstituent elements similar to those of FIGS. 14–18 in the secondembodiment are designated by the same reference numerals forexplanation.

The wristwatch in the embodiment has substantially the sameconfiguration as the second embodiment excluding the configuration of asecond illuminating portion 40 provided in the light guide plate 24 ofthe illumination device 6. That is, the second illuminating portion 40is divided into a first illuminating region 41 on the 9 o'clock side anda second illuminating region 42 on the 3 o'clock side by the lineconnecting the light emitting element 23 and a portion of the sidesurface of the light guide plate 24 which faces the light emittingelement 23, that is, the line connecting 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock as aboundary.

The first illuminating region 41, as shown in FIG. 22, comprises firstprisms 43 and a first side surface reflection portion 44, which isprovided on the 9 o'clock side. As with the second embodiment, the firstprisms 43 are provided to be approximately in parallel with the lineconnecting the light emitting element 23 and a portion of the sidesurface of the light guide plate 24 which faces the light emittingelement 23, that is, the line connecting 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock, andreflection surfaces 43 a thereof face the 9 o'clock side. Therefore, thelight guided to the second illuminating portion 40 from the 9 o'clockside is reflected toward the lower surface side of the light guide plate24. As with the second embodiment, the first side surface reflectionportion 44 is provided at a portion located between 6 o'clock and 9o'clock on the side surface of the light guide plate 24. When the lightfrom the light emitting element 23 runs straight in the light guideplate 24 and reaches the end surface of the light guide plate 24, thelight is reflected from the first side surface reflection portion 44toward the inside of the second illuminating portion 40 of the lightguide plate 24.

The second illuminating region 42, as shown in FIG. 22, comprises secondprisms 45 and a second side surface reflection portion 46, which isprovided on the 3 o'clock side. The second prisms 45 are provided to beapproximately in parallel with the line connecting the light emittingelement 23 and a portion of the side surface of the light guide plate 24which faces the light emitting element 23, that is, the line connecting12 o'clock and 6 o'clock, and reflection surfaces 45 a thereof face the3 o'clock side. Therefore, the light guided to the second illuminatingportion 40 from the 3 o'clock side is reflected toward the lower surfaceside of the light guide plate 24. The second side surface reflectionportion 46 is provided at a portion located between 3 o'clock and 6o'clock on the side surface of the light guide plate 24. When the lightfrom the light emitting element 23 runs straight in the light guideplate 24 and reaches the end surface of the light guide plate 24, thelight is reflected from the second side surface reflection portion 46toward the second illuminating portion 40 of the light guide plate 24.

According to the wristwatch, as with the second embodiment, the dial 13and the hands 15 denoting the first display member, and the liquidcrystal display element 10 denoting the second display member can beexcellently illuminated by the external light in the bright place. Inthe dark place, by making the light emitting element 23 emit light, thelight from the light emitting element 23 is guided in the light guideplate 24 of the illumination device 6 to illuminate the dial 13 and thehands 15 denoting the first display member on the first illuminatingportion 26 and the liquid crystal display element 10 denoting the seconddisplay member on the second illuminating portion 40.

The second illuminating portion 40 is divided into the first and thesecond illuminating regions 41, 42, and each prism 43, 45 of the firstand the second illuminating regions 41, 42 are provided to beapproximately in parallel with the line connecting the light emittingelement 23 and a portion of the side surface of the light guide plate 24which faces the light emitting element 23, that is, the line connecting12 o'clock and 6 o'clock. Thus, as with the second embodiment, when thelight guided to the second illuminating portion 40 from the lightemitting element 23 directly runs straight through the first and thesecond illuminating regions 41, 42 of the second illuminating portion 40and reaches the end surface of the light guide plate 24, the light isreflected from the first and the second side surface reflection portions44, 46 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the light guide plate24 and enters the first and the second illuminating regions 41, 42 inthe second illuminating portion 40 again.

As shown in FIG. 22, since the reflection surfaces 43 a of the firstprisms 43 in the first illuminating region 41 face the 9 o'clock side,when the light reflected from the first side surface reflection portion44 located between 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock enters the first illuminatingregions 41, the light is reflected from the reflection surfaces 43 a ofthe first prisms 43 toward the lower surface side of the light guideplate 24 to perform the surface emission in the first illuminatingregion 41. Since the reflection surfaces 45 a of the second prisms 45 inthe second illuminating region 42 face the 3 o'clock side, when thelight reflected from the second side surface reflection portion 46located between 3 o'clock and 6 o'clock enters the second illuminatingregions 42, the light is reflected from the reflection surfaces 45 a ofthe second prisms 45 toward the lower surface side of the light guideplate 24 to perform the surface emission in the second illuminatingregion 42. Therefore, the surface emission is performed in each of thefirst and the second illuminating regions 41, 42, and the light isradiated to the whole upper surface of the liquid crystal displayelement 10, so that the light from the light emitting element 23 canefficiently be radiated to the liquid crystal display element 10. Thus,the liquid crystal display element 10 can be illuminated brighter thanin the second embodiment.

[Fourth Embodiment]

The fourth embodiment in which the present invention is applied to awristwatch will be explained below referring to FIGS. 23–25. Theconstituent elements similar to those of FIGS. 14–18 in the secondembodiment are designated by the same reference numerals forexplanation.

The wristwatch in the embodiment has substantially the sameconfiguration as the second embodiment excluding that the wristwatch isprovided with first and second light emitting elements 50, 51 as lightsources which are located at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock, respectively, anda side surface reflection portion 52 between 3 o'clock and 6 o'clock onthe outer periphery surface of the light guide plate 24.

That is, in the first and second light emitting elements 50, 51, thefirst light emitting element 50 located at 12 o'clock of the light guideplate 24, as with the first embodiment, comprises a light emitting diodeor the like which emits light in the visible ray region, and is disposedto face the side surface of the light guide plate 24 as shown in FIG.24. The light emitted from the first light emitting element 50 entersthe light guide plate 24 from the side surface of the light guide plate24. The second light emitting element 51 located at 6 o'clock of thelight guide plate 24 comprises of a ultraviolet (UV) light emittingdiode, a black light or the like which emits light in the UV-ray regionhaving a wavelength of between 365–385 nm (nm: One nanometer (nm) isequal to one billionth of a meter), and is disposed to be located abovethe side portion of the dial 13 as shown in FIG. 24. The second lightemitting element 51 is configured to radiate the emitted light in theUV-ray region to the upper surface of the dial 13 from above of the sideportion thereof.

As shown in FIGS. 23 and 25, in a second illuminating portion 53 of thelight guide plate 24, each line-shaped prism 54 is provided to beapproximately in parallel with the line connecting the first and secondlight emitting elements 50, 51, that is, the line connecting 12 o'clockand 6 o'clock, and reflection surfaces 54 a of each prism 54 face the 3o'clock side. Therefore, the second illuminating portion 53 of the lightguide plate 24 is configured to reflect the light which entered thesecond illuminating portion 53 from the 3 o'clock side to the lowersurface side of the light guide plate 24. A side surface reflectionportion 52 is provided at a portion located between 3 o'clock and 6o'clock on the side surface of the light guide plate 24. When the lightfrom the first light emitting element 50 runs straight in the lightguide plate 24 and reaches the end surface of the light guide plate 24,the side surface reflection portion 52 reflects the light toward theinside of the second illuminating portion 53 of the light guide plate24. Hour numerals 13 b on the dial 13 and the hands 15 denoting thefirst display member are provided with a light emitting portion 55 whichemits light in the visible ray region in response to the light in theUV-rays region as shown in FIG. 23.

According to the wristwatch, as with the second embodiment, not only thedial 13 and the hands 15 but also the liquid crystal display element 10are illuminated by the external light in the bright place. In the darkplace, when making the first light emitting element 50 emit light, thefirst light emitting element 50 emits the light in the visible rayregion which is perceptible to human vision. Thus, the light in thevisible ray region is guided in the light guide plate 24 so as toilluminate the dial 13 and hands 15 in the first illuminating portion 26and to illuminate the liquid crystal display element 10 in the secondilluminating portion 53. As with the second embodiment, when the lightguided to the second illuminating portion 53 directly runs straightthrough the second illuminating portion 53 in the surface direction andreaches the end surface of the light guide plate 24, the light isreflected from the side surface reflection portion 52 provided on theside surface of the light guide plate 24 and enters the secondilluminating portion 53 again to be reflected from the reflectionsurfaces 54 a of each prism 54 toward the lower surface side of thelight guide plate 24. Therefore, the surface emission is performed fromthe second illuminating portion 53 to illuminate the liquid crystaldisplay element 10.

When making the second light emitting element 51 emit light, the secondlight emitting element 51 emits light in the UV-ray region which is notperceptible to human vision to be radiated to the upper surface side ofthe dial 13. The light emitting portion 55 provided on the hour numerals13 b of the dial 13 and the hands 15 emits light in the visible rayregion in response to the light in the UV-ray region, so that the hournumerals 13 b on the dial 13 and the hands 15 can be recognized by thelight emitting portion 55 even in the dark place, and thereby time beingrecognized. The light in the UV-rays region emitted from the secondlight emitting element 51 passes through the dial 13 and the light guideplate 24, and is radiated to the liquid crystal display element 10 asthe light in the UV-ray region which is not perceptible to human vision,so that information displayed on liquid crystal display element 10cannot be recognized. However, information displayed on the liquidcrystal display element 10 can be recognized by emitting the first andsecond light emitting elements 50, 51 at the same time.

Accordingly, in the wristwatch, as with the second embodiment, since onelight guide plate 24 can guide the light from the first light emittingelements 50 to illuminate the upper and lower surface sides thereof, thedial 13 and the hands 15 denoting the first display member and theliquid crystal display element 10 denoting the second display memberdisposed in each of the upper and lower surface sides of the light guideplate 24 can be excellently illuminated, and time can be recognized inboth of the bright and the dark places. Specially, by also emitting thesecond light emitting element 51 to irradiate the dial 13 and the hands15 with the light in the UV-rays region, each light emitting portion 55provided on the hour numerals 13 b of the dial 13 and the hands 15 canbe emitted by the light in the visible ray region. Therefore, thewristwatch which is excellent in fanciness can be obtained.

In the above described fourth embodiment, the line-shaped prisms 54 areformed in the second illuminating portion 53 of the light guide plate24, and the reflection surfaces 54 a of the prisms 54 are provided toface the 3 o'clock side for reflecting the light guided to the secondilluminating portion 53 from the 3 o'clock side toward the lower surfaceside of the light guide plate 24, however, it is not limited thereto.The reflection surfaces 54 a of the prisms 54 may be provided to facethe 9 o'clock side for reflecting the light guided to the secondilluminating portion 53 from the 9 o'clock side toward the lower surfaceside of the light guide plate 24. In this case, the side surfacereflection portion 52 is provided at a portion located between 6 o'clockand 9 o'clock on the surface side of the light guide plate 24. When thelight from the first light emitting element 50 runs straight in thelight guide plate 24 and reaches the end surface of the light guideplate 24, the light is reflected toward the inside of the secondilluminating portion 53 of the light guide plate 24. In thisconfiguration, the same effect as in the fourth embodiment can beobtained.

The configuration is not limited to the above described configurations.For example, as with the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 19–22, thesecond illuminating portion 53 may be divided into the firstilluminating region 41 on the 9 o'clock side and the second illuminatingregion 42 on the 3 o'clock side. In this case, the first illuminatingregion 41 comprises of the first prisms 43 and the first side surfacereflection portion 44, and the second illuminating region 42 comprisesthe second prisms 45 and the second side surface reflection portion 46.According to this configuration, when the light guided to the secondilluminating portion 53 is reflected from the first and second sidesurface reflection portions 44, 46 of the first and second illuminatingregions 41, 42, and enters the first and second illuminating regions 41,42 in the second illuminating portion 53 again, this entered light isreflected from each of the reflection surfaces 43 a, 45 a of the firstand second prisms 43, 45 toward the lower surface side of the lightguide plate 24. Thus, the surface emission is performed in the first andsecond illuminating regions 41, 42 to illuminate the liquid crystaldisplay element 10. Accordingly, the liquid crystal display element 10can be illuminated more brightly.

[Fifth Embodiment]

The fifth embodiment in which the present invention is applied to awristwatch will be explained below referring to FIGS. 26–28. Theconstituent elements similar to those of FIGS. 1–6 in the firstembodiment are designated by the same reference numerals forexplanation.

In the wristwatch, the watch module 3 has an analogue function and theillumination device 6. The dial 60 which comprises a material withnon-transmission property such as metal or the like is disposed on thelower surface of the light guide plate 24 of the illumination device 6.The second illuminating portions 61 are provided at a pluralitypositions of the light guide plate 24, and the first and second lightemitting elements 62, 63 are provided to face portions on the sidesurface of the light guide plate 24 located at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock,respectively. Other configuration is as same as that in the firstembodiment.

That is, in the watch module 3, as shown in FIG. 27, the upper housing 7is provided with the analogue movement 9, the dial 60 made of a materialwith non-transmission property such as metal is disposed on the uppersurface of the analogue movement 9 and the upper housing 7, and thelight guide plate 24 of the illumination device 6 is disposed on thedial 60. In this case, the hand shaft 12 of the analogue movement 9protrudes upward through each through hole 64 of the dial 60 and thelight guide plate 24, and the hands 15 are attached to the upper end ofthe protruded hand shaft 12. These hands 15 move above the light guideplate 24.

The dial 60 is provided with the through hole 64 at the center thereofthrough which the hand shaft 12 of the movement 9 is inserted and also,provided with hour numerals 60 a on the outer periphery portion of theupper surface. Each of the hour numerals 60 a corresponds to 1–12o'clock, as shown in FIG. 26. The dial 60 a is configured to reflect thelight which passes through the light guide plate 24 from the uppersurface side toward the lower surface side by the whole upper surfacethereof. Therefore, in the fifth embodiment, the hands 15 whichcorrespond to the first display member is located upward of the lightguide plate 24, and the dial 60 which corresponds to the second displaymember is located downward of the light guide plate 24.

Both of the first and second light emitting elements 62, 63 of theillumination device 6 comprises a light emitting diode or the like whichemits light in the visible ray region, and are configured to emit lightwith a color different to each other. For example, the first lightemitting element 62 is configured to be provided at the position of 12o'clock and emit red light, and the second light emitting element 63 isconfigured to be provided at the position of 6 o'clock and emit bluelight. The light guide plate 24 of the illumination device 6 is providedwith the second illuminating portions 61 at a plurality of positions onthe upper surface thereof, and is provided with the first illuminatingportion 26 which has the same configuration as in the first embodimenton the whole surface excluding a portion corresponding to the secondilluminating portions 61 as shown in FIG. 26. The second illuminatingportions 61 comprises a first illuminating region 65 and a secondilluminating region 66 as shown in FIG. 26.

Each of the first illuminating regions 65 is provided at a positioncorresponding to the hour numeral 60 a on the dial 60, and eachline-shaped prism 67 is provided to be approximately perpendicular tothe light which is radiated from the first light emitting element 62. Asshown in FIG. 28, reflection surfaces 67 a of each prism 67 are providedto face the first light emitting element 62 side. Accordingly, the lightfrom the first light emitting element 62 is reflected toward the lowersurface side. The second illuminating region 66, as shown in FIG. 26, isprovided between the hand shaft 12 and the hour numeral 60 a of 6o'clock on the upper surface of the dial 60, and each line-shaped prism68 is provided to be approximately perpendicular to the light which isradiated from the first light emitting: element 63. As shown in FIG. 28,reflection surfaces 68 a of each prism 68 are provided to face thesecond light emitting element 63 side. Accordingly, the light from thesecond light emitting element 63 is reflected toward the lower surfaceside. As shown in FIG. 26, a decorative portion 69 such as a figure,drawing, symbol or the like is provided at a portion corresponding tothe second illuminating region 66 on the upper surface of the dial 60.

According to the wristwatch, as with the first embodiment, the externallight illuminates the dial 60 and the hands 15 in the bright place, sothat time can be recognized by the dial 60 and the hands 15. Moreover,the hour numerals 60 a and the decorative portion 69 on the dial 60 canbe recognized. When making the first and second light emitting elements62, 63 emit light in the dark place, the light is guided in the lightguide plate 24 and is radiated to the upper surface side at the firstilluminating portion 26. Thus, the hands 15 can be illuminated from thelower surface side. Since the light guided by the light guide place 24is also radiated to the lower surface side at the first illuminatingportion 26, the dial 60 can be illuminated from the upper surface side.Therefore, time can be recognized by the dial 60 and the hands 15 evenin the dark place.

When making only the first light emitting element 62 emit light, lightwith a specific color, for example, red light is emitted. The red lightis guided in the light guide plate 24 to illuminate the hands 15 in theupper surface side of the first illuminating portion 26 with red colorand to illuminate the hour numerals 60 a on the dial 60 in the lowersurface side of the first illuminating region 65 of the secondilluminating portion 61 with red color. However, since the red lightdirectly runs straight in the second illuminating region 66, thedecorative portion 69 on the dial 60 is less illuminated. When makingonly the second light emitting element 63 emit light, light with a colordifferent from that of the first light emitting element 62, for example,blue light is emitted. The blue light is guided in the light guide plate24 to illuminate the hands 15 in the upper surface side of the firstilluminating portion 26 with blue color and to illuminate the decorativeportion 69 on the dial 60 in the lower surface side of the secondilluminating region 66 of the second illuminating portion 61 with bluecolor. However, the blue light directly runs straight in the firstilluminating region 65, the hour numerals 60a on the dial 60 is lessilluminated.

When making both of the first and second light emitting elements 62, 63emit light at the same time, the hands 15 in the upper surface side ofthe light guide plate 24 is illuminated with a mixed color oflight-emitting colors of both the first and second light emittingelements 62, 63 at the first illuminating portion 26 of the light guideplate 24. However, only the hour numerals 60 a on the dial 60 located onthe lower side of the light guide plate 24 is illuminated with alight-emitting color of the first light emitting element 62, for examplea red color, at the first illuminating region 65 of the secondilluminating portion 61, and only the decorative portion 69 on the dial60 located in the lower side of the light guide plate 24 is illuminatedwith a light-emitting color of the second light emitting element 63, forexample a blue color, at the second illuminating region 66. Thus, thehour numerals 60 a on the dial 60 looks red, and the decorative portion69 looks blue. Accordingly, the wristwatch which is excellent in colorand fanciness can be obtained.

In the fifth embodiment, it is described about the case where the watchmodule 3 has only the analogue function, and the decorative portion 69is provided corresponding to the second illuminating region 66 of thesecond illuminating portion 61 on the upper surface of the dial 60.However, it is not limited thereto. For example, as in the fourthmodification shown in FIG. 29, an opening portion 70 may be provided onthe dial 60 corresponding to the second illuminating region 66 of thesecond illuminating portion 61, and the liquid crystal display element10 may provided in the upper housing 7 corresponding to the openingportion 70. In this configuration, as with the fifth embodiment, thehour numerals 60 a on the dial 60 can be illuminated with alight-emitting color (for example, red color) of the first lightemitting element 62, and the liquid crystal display element 10 can beilluminated with a light-emitting color (for example, blue color) of thesecond light emitting element 63. Thus, even when the liquid crystaldisplay element 10 is provided instead of the decorative portion 69 onthe dial 60, the wristwatch which is excellent in color and fancinesscan be obtained.

[Sixth Embodiment]

The sixth embodiment in which the present invention is applied to awristwatch will be explained below referring to FIGS. 30–32. Theconstituent elements similar to those of FIGS. 1–6 in the firstembodiment are designated by the same reference numerals forexplanation.

The wristwatch is configured to be provided with a solar panel 75instead of the reflection plate 25 on the lower surface of the lightguide plate 24. Other configuration is as same as that in the firstembodiment. That is, the solar panel 75 has a configuration in which alower electrode layer made of metal, an amorphous silicon layer, atransparent upper electrode layer, and a transparent protection layerare laminated in this order from below on an insulating substrate. Whenthe solar panel 75 is irradiated with the external light from the upperside, the external light passes through the transparent protection layerand the transparent upper electrode layer to be radiated to theamorphous silicon layer. Moreover, the light which passes through theamorphous silicon layer is reflected from the lower electrode layer.Thus, the solar panel 75 efficiently generates the electromotive force.

The solar panel 75 is configured to be provided with the through hole 14at the center thereof through which the hand shaft 12 of the analoguemovement 9 is inserted, and an opening portion 76 at a portioncorresponding to the liquid crystal display element 10. In the sixthembodiment, the light emitting element 23 is disposed to face a portionlocated at 12 o'clock on the side surface of the light guide plate 24 aswith the first embodiment. The light guide plate 24 is provided with thefirst illuminating portion 26 and the second illuminating portion 27. Inthe first illuminating portion 26, the light guided in the light guideplate 24 is radiated toward the upper surface side to perform thesurface emission.

In this case, in the first illuminating portion 26, the light whichleaks to the lower surface side of the light guide plate 24 is reflectedfrom the solar panel 75 toward the upper surface side, and the reflectedlight is radiated from the upper surface side of the light guide plate24. In the second illuminating portion 27, each line-shaped prism 29 isprovided to be approximately perpendicular to the line connecting thelight emitting element 23 and a portion of the side surface of the lightguide plate 24 which faces the light emitting element 23, that is, theline connecting 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock, and the reflection surfaces 29a of each prism 29 reflect the light guided in the light guide plate 24toward the lower surface side.

According to the wristwatch, as with the first embodiment, the externallight illuminates the dial 13 and the hands 15 in the bright place.Moreover, the external light is radiated to the light guide plate 24through the dial 13 and the opening portion 16 thereof, and thisradiated external light passes through the light guide plate 24 from theupper surface side to the lower surface side to be radiated to the solarpanel 75. Thus, electric power can be generated by the solar panel 75efficiently and the external light which passes through the openingportion 76 of the solar panel 75 is radiated to the liquid crystaldisplay element 10. Accordingly, information such as time or the likedisplayed on the liquid crystal display element 10 can be recognized.

When making the light emitting element 23 emit light in the dark place,the light is guided in the surface direction in the light guide plate 24and is radiated toward the upper surface side of the light guide plate24 at the first illuminating portion 26 of the light guide plate 24 toperform the surface emission from the first illuminating portion 26.Thus, the upper surface side of the light guide plate 24 can beilluminated. The light guided to the second illuminating portion 27 ofthe light guide plate 24 is radiated toward the lower surface side ofthe light guide plate 24 at the second illuminating portion 27 toperform the surface emission from the second illuminating portion 27,thereby illuminating the lower surface side of the light guide plate 24.Since one light guide plate 24 can illuminate the upper and the lowersurface sides thereof, the dial 13 and the hands 15 disposed in theupper surface side of the light guide plate 24 and the liquid crystaldisplay element 10 disposed in lower surface side of the light guideplate 24 can be excellently illuminated even in the dark place.

[Seventh Embodiment]

The seventh embodiment in which the present invention is applied to awristwatch will be explained below referring to FIGS. 33–36. Theconstituent elements similar to those of FIGS. 1–6 in the firstembodiment are designated by the same reference numerals forexplanation.

The wristwatch is provided with a first liquid crystal display element80 of a transmission type and a second liquid crystal display element 81of a reflection type, and the light guide plate 24 is disposed betweenthe first and second liquid crystal display elements 80, 81. Otherconfiguration is as same as that in the first embodiment.

That is, as shown in FIG. 36, the first liquid crystal display element80 is of a reflection type, which comprises an enclosed liquid crystal(not shown) sandwiched between a pair of transparent upper and lowerelectrode substrates 82, 83, and polarizers 84, 85 are provided on theupper surface of the upper electrode substrate 82 and the lower surfaceof the lower electrode substrate 83, respectively. As shown in FIG. 34,the end of the upper electrode substrate 82 is supported in a state ofbeing electrically connected to the circuit board 11 by aninterconnector 86. In this state, voltage is selectively applied betweena pair of the upper and lower electrode substrates 82, 83 toelectrooptically display information such as time or the like.

As with the first embodiment, the second liquid crystal display element81 is of a reflection type, which comprises an enclosed liquid crystal(not shown) sandwiched between a pair of the transparent upper and lowerelectrode substrates 17, 18, the polarizers 19, 20 are provided on theupper surface of the upper electrode substrate 17 and the lower surfaceof the lower electrode substrate 18, respectively, and the reflectionplate 21 is provided on the lower surface of the polarizer 20. The endof the upper electrode substrate 17 is supported in a state of beingelectrically connected to the circuit board 11 by the interconnector 22.In this state, voltage is selectively applied between a pair of theupper and lower electrode substrates 17, 18 to electrooptically displayinformation such as time or the like.

The first liquid crystal display element 80 on the upper side is formedin a size of the whole upper surface of the light guide plate 24, thatis, both of the first illuminating portion 26 and the secondilluminating portion 27. The second liquid crystal display element 81 isformed in a size corresponding to the size of the second illuminatingportion 27. As with the first embodiment, the light emitting element 23is disposed to face a portion located at 12 o'clock on the side surfaceof the light guide plate 24. The reflection plate 25 provided with theopening portion 25 a corresponding to the second liquid crystal displayelement 81 is disposed in the lower surface side of the light guideportion 24. The first illuminating portion 26 of the light guide portion24 is configured to reflect the light guided in the light guide portion24 toward the upper surface side. In the second illuminating portion 27,each line-shaped prism 29 is provided to be approximately perpendicularto the line connecting the light emitting element 23 and a portion ofthe side surface of the light guide plate 24 which faces the lightemitting element 23, that is, the line connecting 12 o'clock and 6o'clock, and the reflection surfaces 29 a of each prism 29 reflect thelight guided in the light guide plate 24 toward the lower surface side.

According to the wristwatch, the external light enters the wristwatchcase 1 through the watch glass 2 in the bright place, and this externallight is radiated to the first liquid crystal display element 80, sothat information such as time or the like displayed on the first liquidcrystal display element 80 can be recognized. That is, when the externallight which entered the watch case 1 is radiated to the first liquidcrystal display element 80, this irradiated external light passesthrough the first liquid crystal display element 80 and the light guideplate 24. The light which passes through the first illuminating portion26 of the light guide plate 24 from the upper surface side to the lowersurface side is reflected from the reflection plate 25. Since thisreflected light passes through a light path which is opposite to theabove to pass through the light guide plate 24 and the first liquidcrystal display element 80 again, information such as time or the likedisplayed on the first liquid crystal display element 80 can berecognized.

In the external light which passes through the second illuminatingportion 27 of the light guide plate 24, the external light which passesthrough the opening portion 25 a in the reflection plate 25 is radiatedto the second liquid crystal display element 81, and this reflectedexternal light enters the second liquid crystal display element 81 to bereflected from the reflection plate 25 of the second liquid crystaldisplay element 81. This reflected light passes through a light pathwhich is opposite to the above to pass through the second liquid crystaldisplay element 81, the opening portion 25 a in the reflection plate 25,the second illuminating portion 27 of the light guide plate 24 and thefirst liquid crystal display element 80 again, and is radiated upward.Thus, information displayed on the second liquid crystal display element81 can be recognized through the first liquid crystal display element80.

When making the light emitting element 23 of the illumination device 6emit light in the dark place, as with the first embodiment, the lightfrom the light emitting element 23 enters the light guide plate 24 fromthe side surface and is guided in the surface direction in the lightguide plate 24. The light guided to the first illuminating portion 26 ofthe light guide plate 24 is radiated toward the upper surface side ofthe light guide plate 24. Also, the light which leaks to the lowersurface side of light guide plate 24 is reflected from the reflectionplate 25. Thus, as described above, the first liquid crystal displayelement 80 is illuminated from the lower surface side, so thatinformation such as time or the like displayed on the first liquidcrystal display element 80 can be recognized even in the dark place. Thelight guided by the second illuminating portion 27 of the light guideplate 24 is reflected from the reflection surfaces 29 a of each prism 29of the second illuminating portion 27 toward the lower surface side ofthe light guide plate 24, and the reflected light passes through theopening portion 25 a in the reflection plate 25 to be radiated to thesecond liquid crystal display element 81. Thus, as described above,information such as time or the like displayed on the second liquidcrystal display element 81 can be recognized through the first liquidcrystal display element 80 even in the dark place.

According to the wristwatch, when making the light emitting element 23emit light in the dark place, this emitted light is guided in thesurface direction in the light guide plate 24, and is reflected towardthe upper surface side of the light guide plate 24 at the firstilluminating portion 26 of the light guide plate 24 to perform thesurface emission. Thus, the first liquid crystal display element 80 canbe illuminated from the lower surface side. When the emitted light isguided to the second illuminating portion 27 of the light guide plate24, this guided light is reflected toward the lower surface side of thelight guide plate 24 at the second illuminating portion 27 of the lightguide plate 24 to perform the surface emission. Thus, the second liquidcrystal display element 81 can be illuminated from the upper surfaceside. Therefore, the upper and lower surface sides of the light guideplate 24 can be illuminated with one light guide plate 24, so thatinformation displayed on the first and second liquid crystal displayelements 80, 81 can be recognized in both of the bright and the darkplaces.

In the wristwatch, since one light guide plate 24 can illuminate theupper and the lower surface sides thereof, there is no need to use aflat backlight device such as an EL element (electroluminescenceelement) on the lower surface of the second liquid crystal displayelement 81 even when disposing the second liquid crystal display element81 at the lower surface of the first liquid crystal display element 80through the light guide plate 24. Thus, a thin shape and space-savingwatch module 3 as a whole can be achieved, so that the wristwatch as awhole can be a small size and a thin shape. Since the second liquidcrystal display element 81 can be disposed adjacent to the secondilluminating portion 27 of the light guide plate 24, it can besuppressed that the outline of information displayed on the secondliquid crystal display element 81 by the refraction of light at thelight guide plate 24 blurs. Therefore, information displayed on thesecond liquid crystal display element 81 can be clearly recognizedthrough the first liquid crystal display element 80.

[Eight Embodiment]

The eight embodiment in which the present invention is applied to acellular phone will be explained below referring to FIGS. 37 and 38. Theconstituent elements similar to those of FIGS. 33–36 in the seventhembodiment are designated by the same reference numerals forexplanation.

As shown in FIGS. 37 and 38, the cellular phone comprises a device case90 made of synthetic resin. The device case 90 is provided with anopening portion on one side of the upper surface, in which a transparentprotection glass 91 corresponding to a window portion is attached. Onthe other side of the upper surface, various key bottoms 92 which arenecessary as a telephone function are provided. On the one side of thedevice case 90, an antenna 93 is extendably attached.

As shown in FIG. 20, a module 94 for cellular phone is stored inside thedevice case 90. The module 94 for cellular phone comprises the first andsecond liquid crystal display elements 80, 81 for displaying informationnecessary for calling and the illumination device 6. The illuminationdevice 6, as with the seventh embodiment, comprises the light guideplate 24 disposed between the first and second liquid crystal displayelements 80, 81, and the light emitting element 23 disposed to face aportion located at 12 o'clock on the side surface of the light guideplate 24. The light guide plate 24 is provided with the firstilluminating portion 26 and the second illuminating portion 27, and thereflection plate 25 in which the opening portion 25 a is providedcorresponding to the second liquid crystal display element 81 isdisposed in the lower surface side of the light guide plate 24. Thefirst liquid crystal display elements 80 is of a transmission type, andis formed in a size approximately equal to the size of the light guideplate 24 to be disposed in the lower side of the protection glass 91.The second liquid crystal display elements 81 is of a reflection type,and is formed in a size corresponding to the size of the opening portion25 a in the reflection plate 25 to be disposed in the lower side of thesecond illuminating portion 27 and the reflection plate 25.

According to the cellular phone, as with the seventh embodiment, theexternal light enters the device case 90 through the protection glass 91in the bright place, and this external light is radiated to the firstliquid crystal display element 80. Also, the external light passesthrough the first liquid crystal display element 80, the light guideplate 24 and the opening portion 25 a in the reflection plate 25 to beradiated to the second liquid crystal display elements 81. Thus,information displayed on the first and second liquid crystal displayelements 80, 81 can be recognized. When making the light emittingelement 23 emit light in the dark place, as with the seventh embodiment,the light from the light emitting element 23 is guided in the surfacedirection in the light guide plate 24 and is radiated toward the uppersurface side of the light guide plate 24 at the first illuminatingportion 26, so that the surface emission is performed from the firstilluminating portion 26 to illuminate the first liquid crystal displayelement 80 from the lower surface side. The light guided to the secondilluminating portion 27 is reflected from the reflection surfaces 29 aof each prism 29 of the second illuminating portion 27 toward the lowersurface side of the light guide plate 24, so that the surface emissionis performed from the second illuminating portion 27 to illuminate thesecond liquid crystal display element 81 from the upper surface sidethrough the opening portion 25 a in the reflection plate 25. Therefore,information displayed on the first and second liquid crystal displayelements 80, 81 can be recognized even in the dark place.

As described above, in the cellular phone, when making the lightemitting element 23 emit light, the first liquid crystal display element80 can be illuminated from the lower surface side in the firstilluminating portion 26 of the light guide plate 24 and the secondliquid crystal display element 81 can be illuminated from the uppersurface side in the second illuminating portion 27. Therefore, the upperand lower surface sides of the light guide plate 24 can be illuminatedwith one light guide plate 24, so that information displayed on thefirst and second liquid crystal display elements 80, 81 can berecognized in both of the bright and the dark places. In this case,since one light guide plate 24 can illuminate the upper and the lowersurface sides thereof, there is no need to use a flat backlight devicesuch as an EL element (electroluminescence element) on the lower surfaceof the second liquid crystal display element 81. Thus, a thin shape andspace-saving module 94 can be achieved, so that the equipment as a wholecan be a small size and a thin shape. Since the second liquid crystaldisplay element 81 can be disposed adjacent to the second illuminatingportion 27 of the light guide plate 24, it can be suppressed that theoutline of information displayed on the second liquid crystal displayelement 81 by the refraction of light at the light guide plate 24 blurs.Therefore, information displayed on the second liquid crystal displayelement 81 can be clearly recognized.

In the sixth to eighth embodiments, it is described about the case wherethe first illuminating portion 26 of the light guide plate 24 isconfigured to form the concavo-convex portion 28 on the lower surface ofthe light guide plate 24, however, it is not limited thereto. Forexample, the concavo-convex portion 28 may be formed on the uppersurface of the light guide plate 24 as the second modification shown inFIGS. 10 and 11, or a plurality of line-shaped prisms 32 may be arrangedon the lower surface of the light guide plate 24 as the thirdmodification shown in FIGS. 12 and 13.

In the above described sixth to eighth embodiments, the prisms 29 of thesecond illuminating portion 27 of the light guide plate 24 is providedto be approximately perpendicular to the line connecting the lightemitting element 23 and a portion of the side surface of the light guideplate 24 which faces the light emitting element 23, that is, the lineconnecting 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock, however, it is not limited thereto.For example, as described in the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 14–18or the fourth embodiment shown in FIGS. 23–25, the prisms 36, 54 of thesecond illuminating portions 35, 53 may be provided to be approximatelyin parallel with the line connecting 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock, and thereflection surfaces thereof 36 a, 54 a may be provided to face the 9o'clock side or the 3 o'clock side. In this case, the side surfacereflection portions 37, 52 are provided on the side surface which islocated between 6 o'clock to 9 o'clock or 3 o'clock to 6 o'clock of thelight guide plate 24.

As described in the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 19–22, the firstilluminating region 41 may comprise the first prisms 43 and the firstside surface reflection portion 44 and the second illuminating region 42may comprise the second prisms 45 and the second side surface reflectionportion 46 by dividing the second illuminating portion 40 into the firstand second illuminating regions 41, 42.

Further, in the sixth to eighth embodiments, it is described about thecase where the light emitting element 23 is provided at a position whichis located to the 12 o'clock side, however, it is not limited thereto.For example, as described in the fourth embodiment shown in FIGS. 23–25or the fifth embodiment shown in FIGS. 26–29, the first light emittingelements 50, 62 and the second light emitting elements 51, 63 may beprovided at positions which are located to the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock.

In the first to eighth embodiments and each of the modifications, it isdescribed about the case where the present invention is applied to awristwatch or a cellular phone. However, it is not limited thereto. Forexample, the present invention can be widely applied to various types ofelectronic equipment such as a personal digital assistance, anelectronic dictionary, a mobile computer, a personal computer, aprinting machine or the like, various types of equipment such as a gaugefor automobile, or each component thereof.

[Ninth Embodiment]

The ninth embodiment in which the present invention is applied to awristwatch will be explained below referring to FIGS. 39–42.

FIG. 39 is a front view of the wristwatch in the present invention, FIG.40 is an expanded sectional view of FIG. 1 taken along the lineXVII—XVII. As shown in FIGS. 39 and 40, the wristwatch comprises thewristwatch case 1. The wristwatch case 1 is configured to be providedwith the first and second bezels 1 b, 1 c made of synthetic resin on theouter peripheral surface of the case body la made of metal. The watchglass 2 is attached to the upper portion of the wristwatch case 1, andthe watch module 3 is contained inside the wristwatch case 1. The backlid 4 is attached to the lower portion of the wristwatch case 1 througha waterproof ring 5.

The watch module 3 is configured to have both of an analogue functionand a digital function as well as the illumination device 6. That is, asshown in FIG. 40, the watch module 3 comprises the upper housing 7 andthe lower housing 8, the upper housing 7 is provided with the analoguemovement 9 and the liquid crystal display element 10, and the circuitboard 11 is provided between the upper housing 7 and the lower housing8. In this case, various types of electronic components (not shown)which make up an electronic circuit for electrically driving theanalogue movement 9, the liquid crystal display element 10 and theillumination device 6 are mounted on the circuit board 11.

In the analogue movement 9, as shown in FIG. 40, the hand shaft 12thereof protrudes upward through each through hole 14 of the light guideplate 24 of the dial 13 and the illumination device 6 to be hereinafterdescribed which are disposed in the upper side of the upper housing 7,the hands 15 such as a minute hand and a second hand are attached to theupper end of the protruded hand shaft 12, and these hands 15 move abovethe dial 13. In this case, the dial 13 is formed of metal or syntheticresin. As shown in FIGS. 40 and 41, the opening portion 16 is providedat predetermined position corresponding to the liquid crystal displayelement 10. A hand display portion comprises the dial 13 and the hands15, which corresponds to a portion of the display member.

As shown in FIG. 42, the liquid crystal display element 10 is of areflection type, which comprises an enclosed liquid crystal (not shown)sandwiched between a pair of transparent upper and lower electrodesubstrates 17, 18, the polarizers 19, 20 are provided on the uppersurface of the upper electrode substrate 17 and the lower surface of thelower electrode substrate 18, respectively, and the reflection plate 21is provided on the lower surface of the polarizer 20. As shown in FIG.40, the end of the upper electrode substrate 17 is supported in a stateof being electrically connected to the circuit board 11 by theinterconnector 22. In this state, voltage is selectively applied betweenthe pair of upper and lower electrode substrates 17, 18 toelectrooptically display information such as time. The liquid crystaldisplay element 10 corresponds to a portion of the display member whichcomprises the liquid crystal display element 10 and the above describedhand display portion.

As shown in FIGS. 39–41, the illumination device 6 comprises the lightemitting element 23 as a light source and the light guide plate 24 forreceiving light emitted from the light emitting element 23 from the sidesurface to guide the light in the surface direction. The light emittingelement 23 comprises a light emitting diode (LED) or the like whichemits light in the visible light range and is disposed corresponding toa portion located in 12 o'clock side on the side surface of the lightguide plate 24, and the lead wire 23 a thereof is electrically connectedto the circuit board 11 as shown in FIGS. 39–41. The light guide plate24 formed of transparent a material makes the light pass through in athickness direction thereof or in up-and-down directions, and also,receives light from the light emitting element 23 from the side surfaceto guide the light in the surface direction for performing the surfaceemission. The lower surface side of the light guide plate 24 isilluminated by the surface-emitted light. The light guide plate 24 isdisposed on the dial 13.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 39–41, a plurality of the line-shaped prisms125 are arranged on the whole area of the upper surface of the lightguide plate 24. As shown in FIG. 39, the prisms 125 are provided to beperpendicular to the diagonal line connecting the light emitting element23 and a portion of the side surface of the light guide plate 24 whichfaces the light emitting element 23, that is, the line connecting 12o'clock and 6 o'clock. The reflection surfaces 25 a of the prisms 125are provided to face the direction of the line connecting 12 o'clock and6 o'clock, that is, one of the 12 o'clock side and the 9 o'clock side(the 12 o'clock side (right side in FIG. 40) in the ninth embodiment asshown in FIG. 40, in which the light emitting element 23 is disposed).

Therefore, the light which enters the light guide plate 24 and is guidedin the light guide plate 24 is reflected toward the lower surface sideof the light guide plate 24. In this case, it is preferable that thepitch of the prisms 125 is gradually narrowed as it departs from thelight emitting element 23 or the 12 o'clock side to radiate the lightfrom the light emitting element 23 approximately equally toward thelower surface side of the light guide plate 24.

According to the wristwatch, the external light enters the wristwatchcase 1 through the watch glass 2 in the bright place, and this externallight is radiated to the hands 15 and the light guide plate 24. Theexternal light is also radiated to the dial 13 by passing through thelight guide plate 24. Thus, time can be recognized by the hands 15 andthe dial 13. The external light radiated to the dial 13 is reflectedfrom the dial 13 to be radiated to the lower surface of the light guideplate 24, and this radiated light passes through the light guide plate24 to be radiated to the upper surface thereof. Therefore the hands 15are illuminated, so that time can be recognized more clearly.

The external light is also radiated to the opening portion 16 of thedial 13, so that the external light directly passes through the openingportion 16 of the dial 13 to be radiated to the liquid crystal displayelement 10. Thus, the liquid crystal display element 10 can beilluminated. Therefore, information such as time or the like displayedon the liquid crystal display element 10 can be recognized. That is,when the external light is radiated to the liquid crystal displayelement 10, the external light passes through the polarizer 19, theupper and lower electrode substrates 17, 18, and the polarizer 20 to bereflected from the reflection plate 21. This reflected light passesthrough a light path which is opposite to the above, and is radiated tothe light guide plate 24 from the lower surface side through the openingportion 16 of the dial 13 again. This radiated light passes through thelight guide plate 24 to be radiated upward. Thus, information such astime or the like displayed on the liquid crystal display element 10through the watch glass 2 can be recognized from outside of thewristwatch case 1.

When making the light emitting element 23 emit light in the dark place,the light from the light emitting element 23 enters the light guideplate 24 from the side surface and is guided in the surface direction inthe light guide plate 24. This guided light is reflected from thereflection surfaces 25 a of each prism 125 of the light guide plate 24toward the lower surface side of the light guide plate 24 to perform thesurface emission from the whole light guide plate 24, and thissurface-emitted light is radiated to the lower surface side of the lightguide plate 24. Thus, the dial 13 disposed in the lower side of thelight guide plate 24 and the liquid crystal display element 10 whichcorresponds to the opening portion 16 of the dial 13 can be illuminatedby this radiated light.

The light radiated to the dial 13 is reflected from the dial 13 andpasses through the light guide plate 24 from the lower surface side tothe upper surface side, and the light which passes through the lightguide plate 24 illuminates the hands 15 which move above the light guideplate 24. Thus, time can be recognized by the dial 13 and the hands 15even in the dark place. The light radiated to the liquid crystal displayelement 10 enters the liquid crystal display element 10 as abovedescribed, and this entered light is reflected from the reflection plate21 of the liquid crystal display element 10. This reflected light isradiated from the upper surface of the liquid crystal display element10, and passes through the opening portion 16 of the dial 13 and thelight guide plate 24. Thus, information displayed on the liquid crystaldisplay element 10 can be recognized even in the dark place.

According to the wristwatch, when making the light emitting element 23emit light in the dark place, the light is guided in the surfacedirection in the light guide plate 24, and this guided light isreflected from the reflection surfaces 25 a of the prisms 125 of thelight guide plate 24 toward the lower surface side of the light guideplate 24 to perform the surface emission from the whole light guideplate 24. This surface-emitted light can illuminate the dial 13 and theliquid crystal display element 10 disposed in the lower side of thelight guide plate 24 approximately equally. Therefore, information suchas time can be recognized in both of the bright and dark places.

Since the pitch of the prisms 125 of the light guide plate 24 isgradually narrowed as it departs from the light emitting element 23, thelight guided in the light guide plate 24 can be radiated toward thelower surface side of the light guide plate 24 approximately equally.Therefore, the surface emission can be performed from the whole lightguide plate 24 with approximately equal brightness. Thus, the dial 13and the liquid crystal display element 10 can be equally illuminated asa whole. Since the dial 13 is illuminated from the upper surface side bythe light guide plate 24, a material of the dial 13 is not limited.Thus, various kinds of materials such as a material with a lighttransmission property or a material with no light transmission propertycan be employed.

In the ninth embodiment, it is described about the case where thereflection surfaces 25 a of the prisms 125 formed on the whole uppersurface of the light guide plate 24 are provided to face the 12 o'clockside. However it is not limited thereto. For example, as the firstmodification according to the ninth embodiment shown in FIGS. 43–45,prisms 127 may be formed to be approximately perpendicular to thediagonal line connecting the light emitting element 23 and a portion ofthe side surface of the light guide plate 24 which faces the lightemitting element 23, that is, the line connecting 12 o'clock and 6o'clock on the whole upper surface of the light guide plate 24, andreflection surfaces 27 a of the prisms 127 may be provided to face theopposite side of the light emitting element 23, that is, the 6 o'clockside (left side in FIG. 45). In this case, as shown in FIG. 43, a sidesurface reflection portion 128 is provided at a portion of the 6 o'clockside on the side surface of the light guide plate 24, for example, at aportion on the side surface of the light guide plate 24 from 4 o'clockto 8 o'clock through 6 o'clock. It is preferable that the pitch of theprisms 127 is gradually narrowed as it departs from the side surfacereflection portion 128 or the 6 o'clock.

In this configuration in the first modification, when the light from thelight emitting element 23 enters the light guide plate 24 to be guidedin the surface direction, the light is hardly reflected from thereflection surfaces 27 a of the prisms 127 and is guided in the surfacedirection in the light guide plate 24. When this guided light reachesthe side surface of the light guide plate 24 and is reflected from theside surface reflection portion 128 of the light guide plate 24, thereflected light is guided to the light guide plate 24 again to bereflected from the reflection surfaces 27 a of the prisms 127 toward thelower surface side of the light guide plate 24. Thus, the light whichleaks from the side surface of the light guide plate 24 can be reduced.Moreover, as with the ninth embodiment, the surface emission isperformed from the whole light guide plate 24, so that the dial 13disposed in the lower surface side of the light guide plate 24 and theliquid crystal display element 10 can be equally illuminated as a whole.

[Tenth Embodiment]

The tenth embodiment in which the present invention is applied to awristwatch will be explained below referring to FIGS. 46–49. Theconstituent elements similar to those of FIGS. 39–42 in the ninthembodiment are designated by the same reference numerals forexplanation.

The wristwatch has substantially the same configuration as the ninthembodiment excluding the configuration of prisms 130 which are arrangedon the whole upper surface of the light guide plate 24 of the of theillumination device 6. That is, the prisms 130, as shown in FIG. 46, areprovided to be approximately in parallel with the diagonal lineconnecting the light emitting element 23 and a portion of the sidesurface of the light guide plate 24 which faces the light emittingelement 23, that is, the line connecting 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock.

Reflection surfaces 30 a of the prisms 130 are provided in the directionwhich is approximately perpendicular to the line connecting 12 o'clockand 6 o'clock, that is, one of the 3 o'clock side and the 9 o'clock side(the 9 o'clock side (left side in FIG. 48) in the tenth embodiment asshown in FIG. 48). Therefore, the light guided from the 9 o'clock sidetoward the light guide plate 24 is reflected toward the lower surfaceside of the light guide plate 24. In this case, it is preferable thatthe pitch of the prisms 130 is gradually narrowed as it departs from theside surface reflection portion 131 side to be hereinafter described orthe 9 o'clock side to radiate the light which is reflected from the sidesurface reflection portion 131 and guided in the light guide plate 24approximately equally toward the lower surface side of the light guideplate 24.

In the light guide plate 24, the light which enters the light guideplate 24 from the light emitting element 23 and is guided in the surfacedirection is hardly reflected from the reflection surfaces 30 a of theprisms 130 to be directly guided in the surface direction. Therefore,the side surface reflection portion 131 is provided on the side surfaceof the light guide plate 24. As shown in FIG. 46, the side surfacereflection portion 131 is provided at a portion on the side surface ofthe light guide plate 24 from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock through 9 o'clock.As shown in FIGS. 46 and 48, when the light from the light emittingelement 23 is guided in the light guide plate 24 to reach the endsurface of the light guide plate 24, this light is reflected toward theinside of the light guide plate 24. In this case, since the light guideplate 24 is formed in approximately disk shape, the side surfacereflection portion 131 is formed in approximately semi circular arcshape on the side surface of the light guide plate 24. Therefore, thelight which is radiated from the light emitting element 23 to the insideof the light guide plate 24 and reaches the light guide plate 24 isreflected from the side surface reflection portion 131 as approximatelyparallel beam.

According to the wristwatch, as with the ninth embodiment, the externallight is radiated to the hands 15 and the light guide plate 24 in thebright place, and this radiated external light passes through the lightguide plate 24 to be radiated to the dial 13 and also, radiated to theliquid crystal display element 10 through the opening portion 16 of thedial 13. Thus, time can be recognized by the hands 15 and the dial 13,and information displayed on the liquid crystal display element 10 canbe recognized. When making the light emitting element 23 emit light inthe dark place, the light from the light emitting element 23 is guidedin the surface direction in the light guide plate 24. This guided lightis hardly reflected from the reflection surfaces 30 a of each prism 130of the light guide plate 24 to be directly guided in the light guideplate 24 in the surface direction.

Since the prisms 130 of the light guide plate 24 are provided to beapproximately in parallel with the line connecting the light emittingelement 23 and a portion of the side surface of the light guide plate 24which faces the light emitting element 23, that is, the line connecting12 o'clock and 6 o'clock, the light guided in the light guide plate 24is hardly reflected from the reflection surfaces 30 a of the prisms 130,and is directly guided in the light guide plate 24. When this guidedlight reaches the side surface of the light guide plate, as shown inFIGS. 46 and 48, this light is reflected from the side surfacereflection portion 131 provided on the side surface of the light guideplate 24 to be guided into the light guide plate 24 again. Since theside surface reflection portion 131 is formed in approximately semicircular arc shape on the side surface of the light guide plate 24 whichis approximately a disk shape, the light which reaches the end surfaceof the light guide plate 24 is reflected from the side surfacereflection portion 131 as approximately parallel beam toward the insideof the light guide plate 24.

When the light reflected from the side surface reflection portion 131 isguided into the light guide plate 24, the light is reflected from thereflection surfaces 30 a of each prism 130 of the light guide plate 24toward the lower surface side of the light guide plate 24. Thus, thesurface emission is performed from the whole light guide plate 24, andthis surface-emitted light is radiated to the lower surface side of thelight guide plate 24. Accordingly, the dial 13 disposed in the lowerside of the light guide plate 24 and the liquid crystal display element10 which corresponds to the opening portion 16 of the dial 13 as a wholecan be illuminated approximately equally by the radiated light.Therefore, time can be recognized by the dial 13 and the hands 15 evenin the dark place, and information displayed on the liquid crystaldisplay element 10 can be recognized.

Since the light which enters the light guide plate 24 from the lightemitting element 23 and is guided in the light guide plate 24 is notreflected from the prisms 130 of the light guide plate 24 to be directlyguided in the surface direction, the bright line spectrums 33 as shownin FIG. 49 are not generated. That is, as the ninth embodiment shown inFIG. 39, if the prisms 125 on the upper surface of the light guide plate24 are provided to be approximately perpendicular to the line connectingthe light emitting element 23 and a portion of the side surface of thelight guide plate 24 which faces the light emitting element 23, that is,the line connecting 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock, and the reflectionsurfaces 25 a of the prisms 125 are provided to face the light emittingelement 23 side or the 12 o'clock side, when the light from the lightemitting element 23 enters the light guide plate 24 and is guided in thelight guide plate 24, the light is reflected from the reflectionsurfaces 25 a of each prism 125 toward the lower surface side of thelight guide plate 24. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 49, when portions fromwhich the light is reflected is seen from a traveling direction of thelight, the portions are formed in a shape of dotted-lines and look asbright line spectrums 33. However, as the tenth embodiment, when thelight which enters the light guide plate 24 from the light emittingelement 23 and is guided in the light guide plate 24 is not reflectedfrom the reflection surfaces 30 a of the prisms 130 of the light guideplate 24 to be directly guided in the surface direction, the bright linespectrums 33 are not generated.

Accordingly, in the wristwatch, when making the light emitting element23 emit light in the dark place, the light enters the light guide plate24 from the side surface and is guided in the surface direction in thelight guide plate 24. This guided light is hardly reflected from thereflection surfaces 30 a of the prisms 130 of the light guide plate 24and is directly guided in the surface direction. When this light reachesthe end surface of the light guide plate 24, the light is reflected fromthe side surface reflection portion 131 to the inside of the light guideplate 24. Since this reflected light is reflected from the reflectionsurfaces 30 a of each prism 130 toward the lower surface side of thelight guide plate 24, the surface emission is performed from the wholelight guide plate 24 to illuminate the dial 13 and the liquid crystaldisplay element 10 disposed thereunder approximately equally as a whole.In this case, since the dotted-line shape bright line spectrums 33 asshown in FIG. 49 are not generated, information and time can beexcellently recognized by the dial 13 and the liquid crystal displayelement 10 without being affected by the bright line spectrums 33.

In the tenth embodiment, the prisms 130 are formed on the upper surfaceof the light guide plate 24 to direct the reflection surfaces 30 a tothe 9 o'clock side, and the side surface reflection portion 131 isprovided at a portion on the side surface of the light guide plate 24from 12 o'clock to 9 o'clock through 6 o'clock. However, it is notlimited thereto. For example, as the second modification shown in FIGS.50 and 51, the prisms 34 may be formed on the upper surface of the lightguide plate 24 to direct the reflection surfaces 34 a to the 3 o'clockside (right side in FIG. 51), and a side surface reflection portion 135may be provided at a portion on the side surface of the light guideplate 24 from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock through 3 o'clock. In this case,it is preferable that the pitch of the prisms 34 is gradually narrowedas it departs from the side surface reflection portion 135 side or the 3o'clock side.

In this configuration in the second modification, when the light fromthe light emitting element 23 enters the light guide plate 24 and isguided in the surface direction, and this guided light reaches the sidesurface of the light guide plate 24 to be reflected from the sidesurface reflection portion 135, this reflected light is guided in thelight guide plate 24 and is reflected from the reflection surface 34 aof the prisms 34 toward the lower surface side of the light guide plate24. Thus, as with the tenth embodiment, the bright line spectrums 33 arenot generated, and the dial 13 and the liquid crystal display element 10can be equally illuminated as a whole.

[Eleventh Embodiment]

The eleventh embodiment in which the present invention is applied to awristwatch will be explained below referring to FIGS. 52–54. Theconstituent elements similar to those of FIGS. 46–49 in the tenthembodiment and FIGS. 50 and 51 in the second modification are designatedby the same reference numerals for explanation.

In the wristwatch, the light guide plate 24 of the illumination device 6is divided into a first illuminating region 136 and a secondilluminating region 137. The rest of the configuration of the wristwatchis substantially the same as that in the tenth embodiment and the secondmodification. The light guide plate 24 is divided by the diagonal lineconnecting the light emitting element 23 and a portion of the sidesurface of the light guide plate 24 which faces the light emittingelement 23, that is, the line connecting 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock as aboundary. The first illuminating region 136 is formed on the 9 o'clockside, and the second illuminating region 137 is formed on the 3 o'clockside.

The first illuminating region 136 comprises first prisms 138 formed onthe upper surface of the light guide plate 24 and a first side surfacereflection portion 39 provided on the side surface of the light guideplate 24. As shown in FIG. 52, the first prisms 138 are provided to beapproximately in parallel with the diagonal line connecting the lightemitting element 23 and a portion of the side surface of the light guideplate 24 which faces the light emitting element 23, that is, the lineconnecting 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock, and the reflection surfaces 38 athereof are provided on the 9 o'clock side (left side in FIG. 54) asshown in FIG. 54. Therefore, the light which is guided from the 9o'clock side to the light guide plate 24 is reflected toward the lowersurface side of the light guide plate 24. In this case, it is preferablethat the pitch of the first prisms 138 is gradually narrowed as itdeparts from the first side surface reflection portion 39 side or the 9o'clock side. The first side surface reflection portion 39 is providedat a portion on the side surface of the light guide plate 24 from 12o'clock to 6 o'clock through 9 o'clock as with the tenth embodiment.When the light from the light emitting element 23 is guided in thesurface direction in the light guide plate 24 and reaches the endsurface of the light guide plate 24, the first side surface reflectionportion 39 reflects the light toward the inside of the light guide plate24.

The second illuminating region 137 comprises second prisms 140 formed onthe upper surface of the light guide plate 24 and a second side surfacereflection portion 141 provided on the side surface of the light guideplate 24. As shown in FIG. 52, the second prisms 140 are provided to beapproximately in parallel with the diagonal line connecting the lightemitting element 23 and a portion of the side surface of the light guideplate 24 which faces the light emitting element 23, that is, the lineconnecting 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock, and the reflection surfaces 40 athereof are provided on the 3 o'clock side (right side in FIG. 54) asshown in FIG. 54. Therefore, the light guided from the 3 o'clock side tothe light guide plate 24 is reflected toward the lower surface side ofthe light guide plate 24. In this case, it is preferable that the pitchof the second prisms 140 is gradually narrowed as it departs from thesecond side surface reflection portion 141 side or the 3 o'clock side.The second side surface reflection portion 141 is provided at a portionon the side surface of the light guide plate 24 from 12 o'clock to 6o'clock through 3 o'clock. When the light from the light emittingelement 23 is guided in the surface direction in the light guide plate24 and reaches the end surface of the light guide plate 24, the secondside surface reflection portion 141 reflects the light toward the insideof the light guide plate 24.

According to the wristwatch, as with the tenth embodiment, the externallight is radiated to the hands 15 and the light guide plate 24 in thebright place, and this radiated external light passes through the lightguide plate 24 to be radiated to the dial 13 and also, radiated to theliquid crystal display element 10 through the opening portion 16 of thedial 13. Thus, time can be recognized by the hands 15 and the dial 13,and information displayed on the liquid crystal display element 10 canbe seen.

When making the light emitting element 23 emit light in the dark place,the light from the light emitting element 23 is guided in the lightguide plate 24 of the illumination device 6, and this guided light isdirectly guided in the surface direction in the first and secondilluminating regions 136, 137. The light guided is reflected from thefirst and second side surface reflection portions 39, 141 of the firstand second illuminating regions 136, 137, and this reflected light isreflected from the first and second prisms 138, 140 of the first andsecond illuminating regions 136, 137 toward the lower surface side.Accordingly, the dial 13 and the liquid crystal display element 10 canbe illuminated.

Since the first and second prisms 138, 140 of the first and secondilluminating regions 136, 137 of the light guide plate 24 are providedto be approximately in parallel with the diagonal line connecting thelight emitting element 23 and a portion of the side surface of the lightguide plate 24 which faces the light emitting element 23, that is, theline connecting 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock, as with the tenth embodiment,the light which enters the light guide plate 24 and is guided in thesurface direction is directly guided in the surface direction in thefirst and second illuminating regions 136, 137. When this guided lightreaches the end surface of the light guide plate 24, the light isreflected from the first and second side surface reflection portions 39,141 provided on the side surface of the light guide plate 24. Thisreflected light is guided to the first and second illuminating regions136, 137 of the light guide plate 24 again.

As shown in FIGS. 52 and 54, since the reflection surfaces 38 a of thefirst prisms 138 in the first illuminating region 136 are provided toface the 9 o'clock side, the light which is reflected from the firstside surface reflection portions 39 provided at a portion on the sidesurface of the light guide plate 24 from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock through9 o'clock is guided to the first illuminating region 136. This guidedlight is reflected from the reflection surfaces 38 a of the first prisms138 toward the lower surface side of the light guide plate 24.Therefore, the surface emission is performed from the whole firstilluminating region 136. Since the reflection surfaces 40 a of thesecond prisms 140 are provided to face the 3 o'clock side in the secondilluminating region 137, the light which is reflected from the secondside surface reflection portions 141 provided at a portion on the sidesurface of the light guide plate 24 from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock through3 o'clock is guided to the second illuminating region 137. This guidedlight is reflected from the reflection surfaces 40 a of the secondprisms 140 toward the lower surface side of the light guide plate 24.Therefore, the surface emission is performed from the whole secondilluminating region 137.

Since the light from the light emitting element 23 does not leak fromthe side surface of the light guide plate 24, the light from the lightemitting element 23 can be effectively guided to the first and secondilluminating region 136, 137 to perform surface emission brightly. Whenthe surface emission is performed from each of the first and secondilluminating regions 136, 137, the light is radiated to the dial 13 andthe liquid crystal display element 10. Accordingly, the light from thelight emitting element 23 can be radiated to the dial 13 and the liquidcrystal display element 10 effectively in comparison with the tenthembodiment. Thus, the dial 13 and the liquid crystal display element 10can be illuminated more brightly, and time, information or the like canbe recognized even in the dark place. Since the first and second prisms138, 140 are provided to be approximately in parallel with the diagonalline connecting the light emitting element 23 and a portion of the sidesurface of the light guide plate 24 which faces the light emittingelement 23, that is, the line connecting 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock, aswith the tenth embodiment, the bright line spectrums 33 are notgenerated. Thus, the dial 13 and the liquid crystal display element 10can be recognized excellently without being affected by the bright linespectrums 33.

[Twelfth Embodiment]

The twelfth embodiment in which the present invention is applied to awristwatch will be explained below referring to FIGS. 55–58. Theconstituent elements similar to those of FIGS. 46–49 in the tenthembodiment are designated by the same reference numerals forexplanation.

The wristwatch is configured to be provided with a conical through hole142 in the light guide plate 24, through which the hand shaft 12 isinserted. The rest of the configuration of the wristwatch issubstantially the same as that in the tenth embodiment. That is, thethrough hole 142 of the light guide plate 24 is formed in a conicalshape which is wide in the lower surface side of the light guide plate24 and is tapered toward the upper surface side thereof as shown inFIGS. 56 and 57. Therefore, the peripheral surface of the through hole54 forms a tapered surface. As with the tenth embodiment, the prisms 130formed on the upper surface of the light guide plate 24 is provided todirect the reflection surface 30 a thereof to the 9 o'clock side of thelight guide plate 24, and the side surface reflection portion 131 isprovided at a portion on the side surface of the light guide plate 24from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock through 9 o'clock.

According to the wristwatch, similar effect to that in the tenthembodiment can be obtained and also, specially, when the light whichenters the light guide plate 24 from the light emitting element 23 andis guided in the light guide plate 24 is radiated to the peripheralsurface of the through hole 142 to be reflected, the radiated light isreflected toward upward from the peripheral surface of the through hole42 as shown in FIG. 57 because the peripheral surface of the throughhole 142 forms a tapered surface. Therefore, it is prevented that thebright line spectrums 143 as shown in FIG. 58 are generated. That is, asthe tenth embodiment shown in FIG. 47, if the through hole 142 of thelight guide plate 24 is formed in a cylindrical shape, when the lightwhich enters the light guide plate 24 from the light emitting element 23and is guided in the light guide plate 24 is radiated to the peripheralsurface of the through hole 14, the light is reflected in a directionwhich is perpendicular to a traveling direction of the light, that is,the 3 o'clock side denoting right side and the 9 o'clock side denotingleft side directions of the light guide plate 24 from the peripheralsurface thereof.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 58, since the light reflected toward the 3o'clock side is reflected from the reflection surfaces 30 a of theprisms 130 toward the lower surface side of the light guide plate 24,when portions from which the light is reflected is seen from a travelingdirection of the light, the portions are formed in a shape ofdotted-lines and look as bright line spectrums 143. However, as in thetwelfth embodiment, since the through hole 142 is formed in a conicalshape, the light guided in the surface direction in the light guideplate 24 is not reflected toward the 3 o'clock side from the peripheralsurface of the through hole 142. Thus, the bright line spectrums 143 arenot generated, and the dial 13 and the liquid crystal display element 10can be recognized excellently without being affected by the bright linespectrums 143.

In the above described twelfth embodiment, the through hole 142 of thelight guide plate 24 is formed in a conical shape which is wide in thelower surface side of the light guide plate 24 and is tapered toward theupper surface side thereof, however, it is not limited thereto. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 59, the through hole 142 of the light guideplate 24 may be formed in an inverted conical shape which is wide in theupper surface side of the light guide plate 24 and is tapered toward thelower surface side thereof. In this case, the peripheral surface of thethrough hole 54 forms a tapered surface which is reverse to the above.In this configuration, as with the twelfth embodiment, since the lightguided in the light guide plate 24 is reflected from the peripheralsurface of the through hole 144 toward downward, the bright linespectrums 143 are not generated, and the dial 13 and the liquid crystaldisplay element 10 can be recognized excellently without being affectedby the bright line spectrums 143.

[Thirteenth Embodiment]

The thirteenth embodiment in which the present invention is applied to awristwatch will be explained below referring to FIGS. 60–63. Theconstituent elements similar to those of FIGS. 46–49 in the tenthembodiment are designated by the same reference numerals forexplanation.

In the wristwatch, the watch module 3 has an analogue function and theillumination device 6 which is provided with the first and secondilluminating regions 145, 146 at a plurality of positions on the lightguide plate 24 of the illumination device 6, and the first and secondlight emitting elements 47, 48 are provided to face portions located at12 o'clock and 6 o'clock on the side surface of the light guide plate 24of the illumination device 6, respectively. Other configuration is assame as that in the first embodiment.

That is, in the watch module 3, as shown in FIG. 61, the upper housing 7is provided with the analogue movement 9, the dial 13 is disposed on thewhole area of the upper surface of the upper housing 7 to cover theanalogue movement 9, and the light guide plate 24 of the illuminationdevice 6 is disposed on the dial 13. On the outer periphery portion ofthe upper surface of the dial 13, the hour numerals 13 a are providedcorresponding to 1-12 o'clock as shown in FIG. 60. Both of the first andsecond light emitting elements 47, 48 of the illumination device 6comprises a light emitting diode or the like which emits light in thevisible ray region, and are configured to emit light with a colordifferent to each other. For example, the first light emitting element47 is configured to be provided at a position located at 12 o'clock andemit red light, and the second light emitting element 48 is configuredto be provided at a position located at 6 o'clock and emit blue light.

As shown in FIG. 60, the light guide plate 24 of the illumination device6 is provided with the prisms 130 which are same as that in the tenthembodiment on almost all the area excluding the plurality of positionsof the upper surface of the light guide plate 24. The prisms 130 areapproximately in parallel with the diagonal line connecting the firstand the second light emitting elements 47, 48. Moreover, the firstilluminating region 47 and the second illuminating region 48 areprovided at the plurality of positions. The reflection surfaces 30 a ofthe prisms 130 are provided to face the 9 o'clock side as with the tenthembodiment, thereby reflecting the light guided from the 9 o'clock sideinto the light guide plate 24 toward the lower surface side of the lightguide plate 24. The side surface reflection portion 131 is provided at aportion on the side surface of the light guide plate 24 from 12 o'clockto 9 o'clock through 6 o'clock.

In the first illuminating region 145, first line-shaped prisms 150 shownin FIGS. 62 and 63 are formed at positions which correspond to each hournumeral 13 a of the dial 13 on the upper surface of the light guideplate 24 as shown in FIG. 60. Each first prism 150 is provided in adirection perpendicular to the light radiated from the first lightemitting element 47 as shown in FIG. 60, and the reflection surfaces 50a thereof are provided to face the first light emitting element 47 sideor the 12 o'clock side (right side in FIG. 62) as shown in FIG. 62.Therefore, the light from the first light emitting element 47 isreflected toward the lower surface side.

In the second illuminating region 146, second line-shaped prisms 151shown in FIG. 62 are formed at a portion between the hand shaft 12 onthe upper surface of the dial 13 and the hour numeral 13 a of 6 o'clockon the upper surface of the light guide plate 24 as shown in FIG. 60.Each second prism 151 is provided in a direction perpendicular to thelight radiated from the second light emitting element 48 as shown inFIG. 60, and the reflection surfaces 51 a thereof are provided to facethe second light emitting element 48 side or the 6 o'clock side (leftside in FIG. 62) as shown in FIG. 62. Therefore, the light from thesecond light emitting element 48 is reflected toward the lower surfaceside. As shown in FIG. 60, a decorative portion 152 such as a figure,drawing, symbol is provided at a portion corresponding to the secondilluminating region 146 on the upper surface of the dial 13.

According to the wristwatch, as with the tenth embodiment, the externallight enters the wristwatch case 1 through the watch glass 2 in thebright place, and this external light is radiated to the hands 15 andthe light guide plate 24. Also this external light passes through thelight guide plate 24 to be radiated to the dial 13. Thus, time can berecognized by the hands 15 and the dial 13, and the decorative portion152 on the dial 13 can also be recognized. The external light radiatedto the dial 13 is reflected from the dial 13 to be radiated to the lowersurface of the light guide plate 24, and this radiated light passesthrough the light guide plate 24 to be radiated to the upper surfaceside. Therefore, the hands 15 are illuminated, so that time can berecognized more clearly.

When the first and second light emitting elements 47, 48 are made toemit light in the dark place, the light enters the light guide plate 24and is guided in the surface direction. In the guided light, the lightwhich reaches the end surface of the light guide plate 24 is reflectedfrom the side surface reflection portion 131 provided at a portion onthe side surface of the light guide plate 24 from 12 o'clock to 9o'clock through 6 o'clock to be guided into the light guide plate 24again. This guided light is reflected from the reflection surfaces 30 aof each prism 130 of the light guide plate 24 toward the lower surfaceside of the light guide plate 24. Moreover, the light which enters thelight guide plate 24 from the first and second light emitting elements47, 48 and is guided in the surface direction is radiated toward thelower surface side of the light guide plate 24 in the first and secondilluminating regions 145, 146. Therefore, the whole upper surface of thedial 13 including each hour numeral 13 a and the decorative portion 152on the dial 13 can be illuminated.

That is, light with a specific color, for example, red light emittedfrom the first light emitting element 47, is guided in the light guideplate 24, and the red light which reaches the end surface of the lightguide plate 24 to be reflected from the side surface reflection portion131 in the guided light is reflected from each prism 130 of the lightguide plate 24 toward the lower surface side. Therefore, the uppersurface of the dial 13 is illuminated with red color excluding each hournumerals 13 a and the decorative portion 152. Moreover, the red lightwhich enters the light guide plate 24 from the first light emittingelement 47 and is guided in the light guide plate 24 is reflected fromthe first prisms 150 in the first illuminating region 145 toward thelower surface side of the light guide plate 24. Therefore, each hournumerals 13 a on the dial 13 can be illuminated with red color. Sincethe red light which enters the light guide plate 24 from the first lightemitting element 47 is directly guided in the surface direction in thesecond illuminating region 146, the decorative portion 152 on the dial13 is hardly illuminated.

The light emitted from the second light emitting element 48, that is,the light with color different from the light from the first lightemitting element 47, for example blue light, is guided in the lightguide plate 24, and the blue light which reaches the end surface of thelight guide plate 24 to be reflected from the side surface reflectionportion 131 in the guided light is reflected from each prism 130 of thelight guide plate 24 toward the lower surface side. Therefore, the uppersurface of the dial 13 is illuminated with blue color excluding eachhour numerals 13 a and the decorative portion 152. Moreover, the bluelight enters the light guide plate 24 from the second light emittingelement 48 and is guided in the light guide plate 24 is reflected fromthe second prisms 151 in the second illuminating region 146 toward thelower surface side of the light guide plate 24. Therefore, each hournumerals 13 a on the dial 13 can be illuminated with blue color. Sincethe blue light which enters the light guide plate 24 from the secondlight emitting element 48 is directly guided in the surface direction inthe first illuminating region 145, the decorative portion 152 on thedial 13 is hardly illuminated.

When making both of the first and second light emitting elements 47, 48emit light at the same time, both lights from the first and second lightemitting elements 47, 48 are reflected from each prism 130 of the lightguide plate 24 to the lower surface side of the light guide plate 24.Thus, the upper surface of the dial 13 is illuminated with a mixed colorof light-emitting colors of both the first and second light emittingelements 47, 48 excluding each hour numeral 13 a and the decorativeportion 152. However, only each hour numeral 13 a on the dial 13 isilluminated with a light-emitting color of the first light emittingelement 47, for example a red color, in the first illuminating region145, and only the decorative portion 152 on the dial 13 is illuminatedwith a light-emitting color of the second light emitting element 48, forexample a blue color, in the second illuminating region 146. Thus, thehour numerals 13 a on the dial 13 looks red, the decorative portion 152on the dial 13 looks blue, and the upper surface on the dial 13excluding these portions looks mixed color. Accordingly, the wristwatchwhich is excellent in color and fanciness can be obtained.

In the thirteenth embodiment, it is described about the case where thewatch module 3 has only the analogue function, the decorative portion152 is provided on the upper surface of the dial 13, and the secondilluminating region 146 is provided in the light guide plate 24corresponding to the decorative portion 152. However, it is not limitedthereto. For example, as the third modification shown in FIG. 64, theopening portion 16 may be provided in the dial 13 corresponding to thesecond illuminating region 146, and the liquid crystal display element10 may be provided in the upper housing 7 corresponding to the openingportion 16. In this configuration, as with the thirteenth embodiment,each hour numeral 13 a on the dial 13 can be illuminated with alight-emitting color (for example, red color) of the first lightemitting element 47, and the liquid crystal display element 10 can beilluminated with a light-emitting color (for example, blue color) of thesecond light emitting element 48. Thus, even when the liquid crystaldisplay element 10 is provided instead of the decorative portion 152 onthe dial 13, the wristwatch which is excellent in color and fancinesscan be obtained.

[Fourteenth Embodiment]

The fourteenth embodiment in which the present invention is applied to awristwatch will be explained below referring to FIGS. 65–67. Theconstituent elements similar to those of FIGS. 46–49 in the tenthembodiment are designated by the same reference numerals forexplanation.

The wristwatch comprises first and second light emitting elements 153,154 which are located at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock, respectively as alight source, and a side surface reflection portion 155 from 12 o'clockto 6 o'clock through 3 o'clock on the outer periphery surface of thelight guide plate 24. A dial 56 with a light transmission property isdisposed on the upper surface of the light guide plate 24 and areflection plate 57 having an opening portion 57 a is disposed on thelower surface of the light guide plate 24. The liquid crystal displayelement 10 is disposed below the opening portion 57 a of the reflectionplate 57. Other configuration is as same as that in the tenthembodiment.

That is, in the first and second light emitting elements 153, 154, thefirst light emitting element 153 located at 12 o'clock of the lightguide plate 24, as with the tenth embodiment, comprises a light emittingdiode or the like which emits light in the visible ray region, and isdisposed to face the side surface of the light guide plate 24 as shownin FIG. 66. The light emitted from the light emitting element 153 entersthe light guide plate 24 from the side surface thereof. The second lightemitting element 154 located at 6 o'clock of the light guide plate 24comprises a ultraviolet (UV) light emitting diode, a black light or thelike which emits light in the UV-ray region having a wavelength ofbetween 365-385 nm (nm: One nanometer (nm) is equal to one billionth ofa meter), and is disposed to be located above the side portion of thedial 56 as shown in FIG. 66. The second light emitting element 154 isconfigured to radiate the emitted light in the UV-ray region to theupper surface of the dial 56 from above of the side portion thereof.

In this case, as shown in FIGS. 65 and 67, a plurality of theline-shaped prisms 34 are arranged on the upper surface of the lightguide plate 24. The prisms 34 are provided to be approximately inparallel with the line connecting the first and second light emittingelements 153, 154, that is, the line connecting 12 o'clock and 6o'clock, and each reflection surface 34 a thereof is provided to facethe 3 o'clock side (right side in FIG. 67) as shown in FIG. 67.Therefore, the light guided from the 3 o'clock side into the light guideplate 24 is reflected toward the lower surface side of the light guideplate 24. The side surface reflection portion 155 is provided at aportion on the side surface of the light guide plate 24 from 12 o'clockto 6 o'clock through 3 o'clock. When the light from the first lightemitting element 153 is guided in the surface direction in the lightguide plate 24 and reaches the end surface of the light guide plate 24,the side surface reflection portion 155 reflects the light toward theinside of the light guide plate 24.

The reflection plate 57 is for reflecting the light radiated from thelight guide plate 24 toward the lower surface side, and is provided withthe opening portion 57 a at a predetermined position corresponding tothe liquid crystal display element 10. The dial 56 comprises atransparent or translucent material having a light transmissionproperty, and is provided with an opening portion 58 at a predeterminedposition thereof which corresponds to the opening portion 57 a of thereflection plate 57 and the liquid crystal display element 10 disposedbelow the light guide plate 24. Hour numerals 56 a are provided on theouter peripheral portion on the upper surface of the dial 56corresponding to 1–12 o'clock. A light emitting portion 59 which emitslight in the visible ray region in response to the light in the UV-rayregion is provided on each hour numeral 56 a on the dial 56 and thehands 15 as shown in FIG. 65.

According to the wristwatch, since the external light is radiated to thehands 15 and the dial 56 in the bright place, time can be recognized bythe dial 56 and the hands 15. Moreover, the external light radiated tothe dial 56 passes through the dial 56 and the opening portion 58thereof to be radiated to the light guide plate 24, and this radiatedexternal light further passes through the opening portion 57 a of thereflection plate 57 to be radiated to the liquid crystal display element10. Thus, information displayed on the liquid crystal display element 10can be recognized through the light guide plate 24 and the openingportion 58 of the dial 56.

When making the first light emitting element 153 emit light in the darkplace, the first light emitting element 153 emits light in the visibleray region which is perceptible to human vision, and this light in thevisible ray region is guided in the surface direction in the light guideplate 24. When this guided light reaches the end surface of the lightguide plate 24, the light is reflected from the side surface reflectionportion 155 provided on the side surface of the light guide plate 24 tobe guided to the light guide plate 24 again. This guided light isreflected from the reflection surfaces 34 a of each prism 34 toward thelower surface side of the light guide plate 24. Thus, the surfaceemission is performed from the whole light guide plate 24. Thissurface-emitted light is radiated to the reflection plate 57 and also,radiated to the liquid crystal display element 10 through the openingportion 57 a of the reflection plate 57. The light radiated to thereflection plate 57 is reflected from the reflection plate 57, and thisreflected light passes through the light guide plate 24 to be radiatedto the dial 56 and also passes through the dial 56 to be radiated to thehands 15 thereof. Accordingly, time can be recognized by the dial 56 andthe hands 15 even in the dark place, and information displayed on theliquid crystal display element 10 can be recognized.

When making the second light emitting element 154 emit light, the secondlight emitting element 154 emits light in the UV-ray region which is notperceptible to human vision to be radiated to the upper surface of thedial 56 and the hands 15. Thus, the light emitting portions 59 providedon each hour numeral 56 a on the dial 56 and the hands 15 emits light inthe visible ray region in response to the light in the UV-ray region.Accordingly, the hour numerals 56 a on the dial 56 and the hands 15 canbe recognized by the light emitting portion 59 even in the dark place.When the light in the UV-ray region emitted from the second lightemitting element 154 passes through the dial 56 and the light guideplate 24 to be radiated to the reflection plate 57, and this light isradiated to the liquid crystal display element 10 through the openingportion 57 a in the reflection plate 57, information displayed on liquidcrystal display element 10 cannot be recognized because the radiatedlight is in the UV-ray region which is not perceptible to human vision.However, information displayed on the liquid crystal display element 10can be recognized by the light in the visible ray region from the firstlight emitting element 153.

Accordingly, in the wristwatch, time can be recognized by the dial 56and the hands 15, and information displayed on the liquid crystaldisplay element 10 can be recognized in both of the bright and darkplaces. Moreover, specially, when making the second light emittingelement 154 emit light to irradiate the dial 56 and the hands 15 withthe light in the UV-ray region, each hour numeral 56 a on the dial 56and each light emitting portion 59 on the hands 15 can be emitted withlight in the visible ray region. Thus, the wristwatch which is excellentin fanciness can be obtained.

[Fifthteenth Embodiment]

The fifteenth embodiment in which the present invention is applied to awristwatch will be explained below referring to FIGS. 68 and 69. Theconstituent elements similar to those of FIGS. 46–49 in the tenthembodiment and FIGS. 65–67 in the fourteenth embodiment are designatedby the same reference numerals for explanation.

In the wristwatch, the dial 56 with a light transmission property isdisposed on the upper surface of the light guide plate 24, and a solarpanel 160 is disposed on the lower surface of the light guide plate 24instead of the reflection plate 57 in the fourteenth embodiment. Otherconfiguration is as same as that in the tenth embodiment. That is, thedial 56 comprises a transparent material, which is provided with theopening portion 58 at a predetermined portion corresponding to theliquid crystal display element 10.

The solar panel 160 has a configuration in which a lower electrode layermade of metal, an amorphous silicon layer, a transparent upper electrodelayer, and a transparent protection layer are laminated in this orderfrom below on an insulating substrate. When the solar panel 160 isirradiated with the external light from the upper side, the externallight passes through the transparent protection layer and thetransparent upper electrode layer to be radiated to the amorphoussilicon layer. The light which passes through the amorphous siliconlayer is reflected from the lower electrode layer. Thus, the solar panel160 efficiently generates the electromotive force.

The solar panel 160 is configured to be provided with the through hole14 through which the hand shaft 12 of the analogue movement 9 isinserted, and an opening portion 161 which corresponds to the liquidcrystal display element 10 at a portion corresponding to the openingportion 58 in the dial 56.

In the fifteenth embodiment, the light emitting element 23 is disposedto face a position located at 12 o'clock on the side surface of thelight guide plate 24 as shown in FIG. 68. As with the tenth embodiment,the line-shaped prisms 130 are provided to be approximately in parallelwith the line connecting the light emitting element 23 and a portion ofthe side surface of the light guide plate 24 which faces the lightemitting element 23, that is, the line connecting 12 o'clock and 6o'clock. The reflection surfaces 30 a of each prism 130 are provided toface the 9 o'clock side as with the tenth embodiment. The side surfacereflection portion 131 is provided at a portion on the side surface ofthe light guide plate 24 from 12 o'clock to 6 through 9 o'clock as shownin FIG. 68.

According to the wristwatch, as with the fourteenth embodiment, theexternal light is radiated to the dial 56 and the hands 15 in the brightplace, so that time can be recognized by the dial 56 and the hands 15.Moreover, since the external light radiated to the dial 56 passesthrough the dial 56 and the opening portion 58 thereof to be radiated tothe light guide plate 24. This radiated external light passes throughthe light guide plate 24 to be radiated to the solar panel 160, so thatelectric power can be generated by the solar panel 160 efficiently.Since the external light passes through the opening portion 161 in thesolar panel 160 to be radiated to the liquid crystal display element 10,information such as time or the like displayed on the liquid crystaldisplay element 10 can be recognized.

When making the light emitting element 23 emit light in the dark place,the light enters the light guide plate 24 and is guided in the surfacedirection. When this guided light reaches the end surface of the lightguide plate 24 to be reflected from the side surface reflection portion131 toward the inside of the light guide plate 24, the reflected lightis guided into the light guide plate 24 and is reflected from thereflection surfaces 30 a of the prisms 130 toward the lower surface sideof the light guide plate 24. Therefore, the surface emission isperformed from the whole light guide plate 24, and is radiated to thesolar panel 160. The liquid crystal display element 10 can beilluminated from upper surface side by the light which passes throughthe opening portion 161 of the solar panel 160 in the radiated light.The light radiated to the solar panel 160 is reflected from the solarpanel 160, and this reflected light passes through the light guide plate24 to be radiated to the lower surface of the dial 56. Thus, the dial 56can be illuminated. Also, since this radiated light further passesthrough the dial 56, the hands 15 above the dial 56 can also beilluminated. Accordingly, time can be recognized by the dial 56 and thehands 15 even in the dark place, and information displayed on the liquidcrystal display element 10 can be recognized.

In the above twelfth to fifteenth embodiments, it is described about thecase where the reflection surfaces 30 a, 34 a of the line-shaped prisms130, 34 formed on the upper surface of the light guide plate 24 areprovided to face any of the 9 o'clock side and the 3 o'clock side.However, it is not limited thereto. For example, as with the eleventhembodiment shown in FIGS. 52–54, the first illuminating region 136 ofthe 9 o'clock side and the second illuminating region 137 of the 3o'clock side may be formed on the light guide plate 24. The firstilluminating region 136 may comprise the first prisms 138 and the firstside surface reflection portion 39, and the second illuminating region137 may comprise the second prisms 140 and the second side surfacereflection portion 141.

In this configuration, as with the eleventh embodiment, when the lightguided in the light guide plate 24 is reflected from the first andsecond side surface reflection portions 39, 141 in the first and secondilluminating regions 136, 137 to be guided into the first and secondilluminating regions 136, 137 of the light guide plate 24 again, thisguided light is reflected from each of the reflection surfaces 38 a, 40a of the first and second prisms 138, 140 toward the lower surface sideof the light guide plate 24. Thus, the surface emission is performedfrom the first and second illuminating regions 136, 137 to illuminatethe dial 13, 56 and the liquid crystal display element 10, so that thelight from the light emitting element 23 can be radiated to the dial 13,56 and the liquid crystal display element 10 efficiently to illuminatethem more brightly.

[Sixteenth Embodiment]

The sixteenth embodiment in which the present invention is applied to awristwatch will be explained below referring to FIGS. 70–73. Theconstituent elements similar to those of FIGS. 52–54 in the eleventhembodiment are designated by the same reference numerals forexplanation.

The wristwatch comprises a first liquid crystal display element 165 of atransmission type and a second liquid crystal display element 166 of areflection type, and the light guide plate 24 is disposed between thefirst and second liquid crystal display elements 165, 166. Otherconfiguration is as same as, that in the eleventh embodiment.

That is, as shown in FIG. 73, the first liquid crystal display element165 is of a transmission type, which comprises an enclosed liquidcrystal (not shown) sandwiched between a pair of transparent upper andlower electrode substrates 167, 168, and polarizers 170, 71 are providedon the upper surface of the upper electrode substrate 167 and the lowersurface of the lower electrode substrate 168, respectively. As shown inFIG. 71, the end of the upper electrode substrate 167 is supported in astate of being electrically connected to the circuit board 11 by aninterconnector 72. In this state, voltage is selectively applied betweena pair of the upper and lower electrode substrates 167, 168 toelectrooptically display information such as time or the like.

As with the liquid crystal display element 10 in the ninth embodiment,the second liquid crystal display element 166 is of a reflection type,which comprises an enclosed liquid crystal (not shown) sandwichedbetween a pair of the transparent upper and lower electrode substrates17, 18, the polarizers 19, 20 are provided on the upper surface of theupper electrode substrate 17 and the lower surface of the lowerelectrode substrate 18, respectively, and the reflection plate 21 isprovided on the lower surface of the lower electrode substrate 20. Asshown in FIG. 71, the end of the upper electrode substrate 17 issupported in a state of being electrically connected to the circuitboard 11 by the interconnector 22. In this state, voltage is selectivelyapplied between a pair of the upper and lower electrode substrates 17,18 to electrooptically display information such as time or the like.

As shown in FIG. 71, the first and second liquid crystal displayelements 165, 166 are formed in an almost the same size as the lightguide plate 24. The light guide plate 24 is formed in approximately ahexagonal shape, and the light emitting element 23 is disposed to face aportion located in the 3 o'clock side on the side surface of the lightguide plate 24. As with the eleventh embodiment, the light guide plate24 is divided by the line connecting the light emitting element 23 and aportion of the side surface of the light guide plate 24 which faces thelight emitting element 23, that is, the line connecting 12 o'clock and 6o'clock as a boundary. A first illuminating region 73 is formed on the12 o'clock side and a second illuminating region 74 is formed on the 6o'clock side.

The first illuminating region 73 comprises first prisms 175 formed onthe upper surface of the light guide plate 24 and a first side surfacereflection portion 176 provided on the side surface of the light guideplate 24. As shown in FIG. 70, the first prisms 175 are provided to beapproximately in parallel with the diagonal line connecting the lightemitting element 23 and a portion of the side surface of the light guideplate 24 which faces the light emitting element 23, that is, the lineconnecting 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock, and the reflection surfaces 75 athereof are provided to face the 12 o'clock side (right side in FIG. 72)as shown in FIG. 72. Therefore, the light guided from the 12 o'clockside to the light guide plate 24 is reflected toward the lower surfaceside of the light guide plate 24. In this case, it is preferable thatthe pitch of the first prisms 175 is gradually narrowed as it departsfrom the first side surface reflection portion 176 side or the 12o'clock side. The first side surface reflection portion 176 is providedat a portion located in the 12 o'clock side on the side surface of thelight guide plate 24. When the light from the light emitting element 23is guided in the surface direction in the light guide plate 24 andreaches the end surface of the light guide plate 24, the first sidesurface reflection portion 176 reflects the light toward the inside ofthe light guide plate 24.

The second illuminating region 74 comprises second prisms 77 formed onthe upper surface of the light guide plate 24 and a second side surfacereflection portion 78 provided on the side surface of the light guideplate 24. As shown in FIG. 70, the second prisms 77 are provided to beapproximately in parallel with the diagonal line connecting the lightemitting element 23 and a portion of the side surface of the light guideplate 24 which faces the light emitting element 23, that is, the lineconnecting 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock, and the reflection surfaces 77 athereof are provided to face the 6 o'clock side (left side in FIG. 72)as shown in FIG. 72. Therefore, the light guided from the 6 o'clock sideto the light guide plate 24 is reflected toward the lower surface sideof the light guide plate 24. In this case, it is preferable that thepitch of the second prisms 77 is gradually narrowed as it departs fromthe second side surface reflection portion 78 side or the 6 o'clockside. The second side surface reflection portion 78 is provided at aportion located in the 6 o'clock side on the side surface of the lightguide plate 24. When the light from the light emitting element 23 isguided in the surface direction in the light guide plate 24 and reachesthe end surface of the light guide plate 24, the second side surfacereflection portion 78 reflects the light toward the inside of the lightguide plate 24.

According to the wristwatch, when the external light enters thewristwatch case 1 through the watch glass 2 in the bright place, andthis external light is radiated to the first liquid crystal displayelement 165, this radiated external light passes through the firstliquid crystal display element 165 and the light guide plate 24 to beradiated to the second liquid crystal display element 166. This radiatedexternal light enters the second liquid crystal display element 166, andis reflected from the reflection plate 21 of the second liquid crystaldisplay element 166. This reflected light passes through the secondliquid crystal display element 166 again through a light path which isopposite to the above to be radiated to the light guide plate 24 fromthe lower surface side. This radiated light passes through the lightguide plate 24 and the first liquid crystal display element 165. Thus,information displayed on the first liquid crystal display element 165can be recognized, and information displayed on the second liquidcrystal display element 166 can be recognized through the light guideplate 24 and the first liquid crystal display element 165.

When making the light emitting element 23 of the illumination device 6emit light in the dark place, as with the eleventh embodiment, the lightfrom the light emitting element 23 is guided in the light guide plate24. When this guided light is directly guided in the surface directionin the first and second illuminating regions 73, 74 and reaches the endsurface of the light guide plate 24, this light is reflected from thefirst and second side surface reflection portions 176, 78. Thisreflected light is guided to the first and second illuminating regions73, 74 of the light guide plate 24 again to be reflected from the firstand second illuminating regions 73, 74 toward lower surface side of thelight guide plate 24. Thus, the surface emission is performed from thewhole first and second illuminating regions 73, 74, that is, the wholelight guide plate 24 to illuminate the second liquid crystal displayelement 166.

As shown in FIG. 70, when the light reflected from the first sidesurface reflection portion 176 of the 12 o'clock side is guided to thefirst illuminating region 73, the light is reflected from the reflectionsurfaces 75 a of the first prisms 175 toward the lower surface side ofthe light guide plate 24 because the reflection surfaces 75 a of thefirst prisms 175 are provided to face the 12 o'clock side as shown inFIG. 72. Therefore, the surface emission is performed from the firstilluminating region 73. When the light reflected from the second sidesurface reflection portion 78 of the 6 o'clock side is guided to thesecond illuminating region 74, the light is reflected from thereflection surfaces 77 a of the second prisms 77 toward the lowersurface side of the light guide plate 24 because the reflection surfaces77 a of the second prisms 77 are provided to face the 6 o'clock side.Therefore, the surface emission is performed in the second illuminatingregion 74.

When the surface emission is performed in each of the first and secondilluminating regions, as with the eleventh embodiment, the light fromthe light emitting element 23 can be radiated to the second liquidcrystal display element 166 efficiently, thereby illuminating the wholesecond liquid crystal display element 166 equally from the upper surfaceside. This illuminated, light enters the second liquid crystal displayelement 166 to be reflected from the reflection plate 21, and thisreflected light passes through the light guide plate 24 through a lightpath which is opposite to the above to be radiated to the first liquidcrystal display element 165 from the lower surface side of the lightguide plate 24. Thus, information displayed on the first liquid crystaldisplay element 165 can be recognized, and information displayed on thesecond liquid crystal display element 166 can be recognized through thelight guide plate 24 and the first liquid crystal display element 165.In this case, since the bright line spectrums 33 shown in FIG. 49 arenot generated, information displayed on the first and second liquidcrystal display elements 165, 166 can be clearly recognized withoutbeing affected by the bright line spectrums 33.

In the above described sixteenth embodiment, the light guide plate 24 isdisposed between the first and second liquid crystal display elements165, 166, however, the light guide plate 24 is not necessarily disposedbetween the first and second liquid crystal display elements 165, 166.The light guide plate 24 may be disposed in the upper side of the firstand second liquid crystal display elements 165, 166, or as the fourthmodification shown in FIG. 74, only the second liquid crystal displayelement 166 may be disposed on the lower surface of the light guideplate 24. In this configuration, the same effect as in the sixteenthembodiment can be obtained. Moreover, information can be displayed morebrightly in comparison with the sixteenth embodiment, and the wristwatchas a whole can be a small size and a thin shape.

[Seventeenth Embodiment]

The seventeenth embodiment in which the present invention is applied toa cellular phone will be explained below referring to FIGS. 75 and 76.The constituent elements similar to those of FIGS. 52–54 in the eleventhembodiment and FIGS. 70–73 in the sixteenth embodiment are designated bythe same reference numerals for explanation.

As shown in FIGS. 75 and 76, the cellular phone comprises a device case180 made of synthetic resin. The device case 180 is provided with anopening portion on one side of the upper surface, in which a transparentprotection glass 181 corresponding to a window portion is attached. Onthe other side of the upper surface, various key bottoms 182 which arenecessary as a telephone function are provided. On the one side of thedevice case 180, an antenna 183 is extendably attached.

As shown in FIG. 76, a module 184 for cellular phone is stored insidethe device case 180. The module 184 for cellular phone comprises theliquid crystal display element 166 for displaying information necessaryfor calling and the illumination device 6. The illumination device 6, aswith the sixteenth embodiment, comprises the light guide plate 24disposed on the upper surface of the liquid crystal display element 166and the light emitting element 23 disposed to face the side surface ofthe light guide plate 24 located at 6 o'clock. The light guide plate 24is formed in approximately a square shape, and the light emittingelement 23 is disposed to face the light guide plate 24 on the sidesurface located at 6 o'clock as shown in FIG. 76. As with the eleventhembodiment, the light guide plate 24 is divided by the diagonal lineconnecting the light emitting element 23 and a portion of the sidesurface of the light guide plate 24 which faces the light emittingelement 23, that is, the line connecting 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock as aboundary. The first illuminating region 136 is formed on the 9 o'clockside and the second illuminating region 137 is formed on the 3 o'clockside on the upper surface of the light guide plate 24.

The first illuminating region 136, as with the eleventh embodiment,comprises the first prisms 138 formed on the upper surface of the lightguide plate 24 and the first side surface reflection portion 39 providedon the side surface of the 9 o'clock side of the light guide plate 24.The reflection surfaces 38 a of the first prisms 138 are provided toface the 9 o'clock side, so that the light which is reflected from thefirst side surface reflection portion 39 of the 9 o'clock side and isguided in the light guide plate 24 is reflected from the reflectionsurfaces 38 a of the first prisms 138 toward the lower surface side ofthe light guide plate 24 (refer to FIGS. 52 and 54). The secondilluminating region 137 comprises the second prisms 140 formed on theupper surface of the light guide plate 24 and the second side surfacereflection portion 141 provided on the side surface of the 3 o'clockside of the light guide plate 24. The reflection surfaces 40 a of thesecond prisms 140 are provided to face the 3 o'clock side, so that thelight which is reflected from the second side surface reflection portion141 of the 3 o'clock side and is guided in the light guide plate 24 isreflected from the reflection surfaces 40 a of the second prisms 140toward the lower surface side of the light guide plate 24 (refer toFIGS. 52 and 54).

According to the cellular phone, the external light enters the devicecase 180 through the protection glass 181 in the bright place, and thisexternal light passes through the light guide plate 24 to be radiated tothe liquid crystal display element 166. Thus, information displayed onthe liquid crystal display element 166 can be recognized through thelight guide plate 24. When making the light emitting element 23 emitlight in the dark place, as with the eleventh embodiment, the light fromthe light emitting element 23 is guided in the surface direction in thelight guide plate 24. When this guided light is directly guided in thesurface direction in the first and second illuminating regions 136, 137and reaches the end surface of the light guide plate 24, the light isreflected from the first and second side surface reflection portions 39,141 of the light guide plate 24, and this reflected light is guided intothe first and second illuminating regions 136, 137 of the light guideplate 24 to be reflected toward the lower surface side of the of thelight guide plate 24. Therefore, the surface emission is performed inthe first and second illuminating regions 136, 137 to illuminate theliquid crystal display element 166.

As with the eleventh embodiment, when the light reflected from the firstside surface reflection portion 39 of the 12 o'clock side of the firstilluminating region 136 is guided in the first illuminating region 136,the light is reflected from the reflection surface 38 a of the firstprisms 138 toward the lower surface side of the light guide plate 24 toperform the surface emission in the first illuminating region 136. Whenthe light reflected from the second side surface reflection portion 141of the 6 o'clock side of the second illuminating region 137 is guided inthe second illuminating region 137, the light is reflected from thereflection surface 40 a of the second prisms 140 toward the lowersurface side of the light guide plate 24 to perform the surface emissionin the second illuminating region 137. Therefore, the surface emissionis performed in each of the first and second illuminating regions 136,137 to illuminate the liquid crystal display element 166. Thus, as withthe eleventh embodiment, the light from the light emitting element 23can be radiated to the liquid crystal display element 166 efficiently.Moreover, since the bright line spectrums 33 shown in FIG. 49 are notgenerated, information displayed on the liquid crystal display element166 can be clearly recognized without being affected by the bright linespectrums 33.

In the above sixteenth and seventeenth embodiments, the light guideplate 24 is provided with the first and second illuminating regions 73and 74, or 136 and 137, however it is not limited thereto. As the ninthembodiment shown in FIGS. 39–42, the first modification shown in FIGS.43–45, the tenth embodiment shown in FIGS. 46–49, and the secondmodification shown in FIGS. 50 and 51, the light guide plate 24 may beconfigured to be provided with the prisms 125, 127, 130, 34 on the wholeupper surface.

In the above sixteenth and seventeenth embodiments, the light emittingelement 23 is provided only at a position located at 3 o'clock or 6o'clock of the light guide plate 24, however it is not limited thereto.For example, as the thirteenth embodiment shown in FIGS. 60–62 and thefourteenth embodiment shown in FIGS. 65–67, the first and second lightemitting elements 47, 48, or 153 154 may be provided at two positionslocated at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock, or 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock of thelight guide plate 24, respectively.

In the above ninth to seventeenth embodiments and each modification, itis described about the case where the present invention is applied to awristwatch or a cellular phone, however it is not limited thereto. Forexample, the present invention can be widely applied to various types ofelectronic equipment such as, a personal digital assistance, anelectronic dictionary, a mobile computer, a personal computer, aprinting machine or the like, various types of equipment such as a gaugefor automobile, or each component thereof.

As described above, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 39–76, theillumination device in which light from a light source enters a lightguide plate from a side surface thereof and is guided in a surfacedirection in the light guide plate to perform a surface emission fromthe light guide plate for illuminating a display member (13, 15, 10,166): wherein the light guide plate (24) has a light transmissionproperty in a thickness direction thereof, a plurality of line-shapedprisms (125, 127, 130, 34; first prism 138, 150, 175; second prism 140,151, 77) having reflection surfaces (25 a, 27 a, 30 a, 34 a, 38 a, 40 a,50 a, 51 a, 75 a, 77 a) for reflecting light guided in the light guideplate in a surface direction toward a lower surface side of the lightguide plate are formed on a whole upper surface of the light guideplate, and the display member (dial 13 and hands 15, liquid crystaldisplay element 10, or second liquid crystal display element 166) isdisposed at least in a lower surface side of the light guide plate.

According to the embodiment, since the external light passes through thelight guide plate from the upper surface side to the lower surface sidein the bright place, the display member disposed in the lower side ofthe light guide plate can be excellently illuminated. Thus, the displaymember can be recognized through the light guide plate. When making thelight source emit light, the light enters the light guide plate from theside surface to be guided in the surface direction. Since this guidedlight is reflected from the reflection surfaces of each prism toward thelower surface side of the light guide plate, the surface emission isperformed from the whole light guide plate to illuminate the wholedisplay member disposed in the lower side of the light guide plateapproximately equally. Moreover, the display member is illuminated fromthe upper surface side by the surface emission from the light guideplate, so that any material such as a material having a lighttransmission property or having no light transmission property can beemployed for the display member.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 39–45, the line-shaped prisms (125,127) are provided to be approximately perpendicular to a line connectingthe light source (light emitting element 23) and a portion of the sidesurface of the light guide plate (24) which faces the light source, andthe reflection surfaces (25 a, 27 a) of the line-shaped prisms areprovided to face one side.

According to the embodiment, when the light from the light source entersthe light guide plate and is guided in the surface direction, thisguided light is reflected from the reflection surfaces of the prismstoward the lower surface side of the light guide plate. Thus, thesurface emission is performed from the whole light guide plate. Sincethis surface-emitted light is radiated to the lower surface side of thelight guide plate, the whole display member disposed in the lowersurface side of the light guide plate can be illuminated approximatelyequally.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 43–45, a side surface reflectionportion (128) is provided on the side surface of the light guide plate(24), the side surface reflection portion reflecting light which isguided in the light guide plate in the surface direction and reaches anend surface of the light guide plate toward inside of the light guideplate.

According to the embodiment, when the light which is guided in thesurface direction in the light guide plate reaches the end surface ofthe light guide plate, this light is reflected from the side surfacereflection portion provided on the side surface of the light guide platetoward the inside of the light guide plate. Thus, the leakage of lightfrom the side surface of the light guide plate can be prevented.Moreover, when the reflection surfaces of the prisms of the light guideplate are provided to face the side opposite to the light source, thelight reflected from the side surface reflection portion is reflectedfrom the prisms of the light guide plate toward the lower surface sidethereof. Therefore, the surface emission can be performed from the wholelight guide plate, and this surface-emitted light is radiated to thelower surface side of the light guide plate. Thus, the whole displaymember disposed in the lower surface side of the light guide plate canbe illuminated approximately equally.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 46–76, the line-shaped prisms (prism130, 134; first prism 138, 175; second prism 140, 77) are provided to beapproximately in parallel with a line connecting the light source (lightemitting element 23; first light emitting element 47, 153; second lightemitting element 48, 154) and a portion of the side surface of the lightguide plate (24) which faces the light source; and the reflectionsurfaces (30 a, 34 a, 38 a, 40 a, 75 a, 77 a) of the line-shaped prismsare provided to face one side; and a side surface reflection portion(side surface reflection portion 131, 135, 155; first side surfacereflection portion 39, 176; second side surface reflection portion 141,78) for reflecting light which is guided in the light guide plate andreaches an end surface of the light guide plate toward inside of thelight guide plate is provided on the side surface of the light guideplate located in a side of the reflection surfaces of the prisms.

According to the embodiment, when the light which is guided in thesurface direction in the light guide plate reaches the end surface ofthe light guide plate, this light is reflected from the side surfacereflection portion toward the inside of the light guide plate. Thisreflected light is reflected from the reflection surfaces of each prismtoward the lower surface side of the light guide plate. Therefore, thesurface emission is performed from the light guide plate, and thissurface-emitted light is radiated to the lower surface side the lightguide plate. Thus, the whole display member disposed in the lowersurface side of the light guide plate can be illuminated approximatelyequally. When the light which enters the light guide plate from thelight source is guided in the surface direction of the light guideplate, the light is hardly reflected from the reflection surfaces of theprisms toward the lower surface side the light guide plate. Accordingly,the bright line spectrums are not generated, and display member can beclearly recognized without being affected by the bright line spectrums.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 52–54 and FIGS. 70–76, the light guideplate (24) comprises: a first illuminating region (136, 73) comprising afirst prism (138, 175) provided with a reflection surface (35 a, 75 a)which faces one side, and a first side surface reflection portion (39,176) provided on the surface side of the light guide plate located in aside of the reflection surface of the first prism; and the secondilluminating region (137, 74) comprising a second prism (140, 77)provided with a reflection surface (44 a, 77 a) which faces an oppositeside of the reflection surface of the first prism, and a second sidesurface reflection portion (141, 78) provided on the surface side of thelight guide plate located in a side of the reflection surface of thesecond prism.

According to the embodiment, when the light enters the light guide platefrom the light source and guided in the surface direction in the lightguide plate, the light is hardly reflected from each reflection surfaceof the first and second prisms toward the lower surface side of thelight guide plate, and is directly guided in the surface direction. Whenthis guided light is reflected from the first and second side surfacereflection portions provided on the side surface of the light guideplate toward the inside of the light guide plate, the light reflectedfrom the first side surface reflection portion is reflected from thereflection surfaces of the first prisms toward the lower surface side ofthe light guide plate and the light reflected from the second sidesurface reflection portion is reflected from the reflection surfaces ofthe second prisms toward the lower surface side of the light guideplate. Therefore, the surface emission is performed in each of the firstand second illuminating regions, and the light from the light source canbe radiated to the lower surface side of the light guide plateefficiently. Thus, the whole display member disposed in the lowersurface side of the light guide can be illuminated equally and brightly.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 60–64, the light source comprises afirst light emitting element (47) disposed to face a predeterminedposition of an outer peripheral portion of the light guide plate (24)and a second light emitting element (48) disposed to face apredetermined position of the outer peripheral portion of the lightguide plate located on a diagonal line from the first light emittingelement, and the first and the second light emitting elements emit lightwith a color different to each other.

According to the embodiment, when making the first light emittingelement emit light, the lower surface side of the light guide plate canbe illuminated with a specific color. When making the second lightemitting element emit light, the lower surface side of the light guideplate can be illuminated with a color different from that of the firstlight emitting element. Moreover, when both of the first and secondlight emitting elements are made to emit light at the same time, thelower surface side of the light guide plate can be illuminated with amixed color of both of them. Accordingly, the wristwatch which isexcellent in color and fanciness can be obtained.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 60–64, the light guide plate (24)comprises a first illuminating region (145) for radiating light from thefirst light emitting element (47) toward the lower surface side of thelight guide plate, and a second illuminating region (146) for radiatinglight from the second light emitting element (48) toward the lowersurface side of the light guide plate.

According to the embodiment, when making the first light emittingelement emit light, the light with a specific color is radiated towardthe lower surface side of the light guide plate in the firstilluminating region, so that the lower surface side of the light guideplate can be illuminated with the light with a specific color. Whenmaking the second light emitting element emit light, light with a colordifferent from that of the first light emitting element is radiatedtoward the lower surface side of the light guide plate in the secondilluminating region, so that the lower surface side of the light guideplate can be illuminated with the light with a color different from thatof the first light emitting element. Specifically, when the both of thefirst and second light emitting elements are made to emit light at thesame time, the lower surface side of the light guide plate can beilluminated in each of the first and second illuminating regions with acolor different to each other. Accordingly, the wristwatch which isexcellent in color and fanciness can be obtained.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 65–67, the light source comprises afirst light emitting element (50) disposed at a predetermined positionof an outer peripheral portion of the light guide plate (24), and asecond light emitting element (51) disposed at a predetermined positionof the outer peripheral portion of the light guide plate located on adiagonal line from the first light emitting element; and one of thefirst and the second light emitting elements emits light in a visibleray region and the other emits light in a ultraviolet ray region, and aportion of the display member (hour numerals 56 a on dial 56 and hands15) comprises a light emitting portion (59) for emitting light in avisible ray region in response to light in a ultraviolet ray region.

According to the embodiment, when making one of the first and the secondlight emitting elements, for example, the first light emitting element(153) emit light, the first light emitting element emits light in thevisible ray region which is perceptible to human vision. The lowersurface side of the light guide plate can be illuminated with this lightin the visible ray region, so that the display member can be recognized.When making the other of the first and the second light emittingelements, for example, the second light emitting element (154) emitlight, the second light emitting element emits light in the UV-rayregion which is not perceptible to human vision. When this light in theUV-ray region is radiated to the display member, the light emittingportion of the display member responds to the light in the UV-ray regionto emit light in the visible ray region. Thus, the display member can berecognized with the light in the visible ray region emitted from thelight emitting portion. Accordingly, the wristwatch which is excellentin fanciness can be obtained.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 39–64, the display member comprises adial (13) above which a hand (15) moves and/or a flat display element(liquid crystal display element 10) for displaying informationelectrooptically.

According to the embodiment, the light from the light source is guidedin the light guide plate to perform the surface emission, and thissurface-emitted light is radiated toward the lower surface side of thelight guide plate approximately equally. Thus, when the display membercomprises a dial and/or a flat display element, the whole display membercan be excellently illuminated from the upper surface side by thesurface emission from the light guide plate.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 55–59, the light guide plate (24) has athrough hole (142, 144) through which a hand shaft (12) of the hand (15)which moves above the dial (13) is inserted, and a peripheral surface ofthe through hole is formed in a tapered shape.

According to the embodiment, when the light from the light source isguided in the surface direction in the light guide plate and reaches theperipheral surface of the through hole, this light can be reflected in aupper-and-lower directions of the light guide plate because theperipheral surface of the through hole is formed in the tapered shape.Therefore, it can be prevented that the bright line spectrums aregenerated. That is, if the through hole is formed in a cylindricalshape, the light which enters the light guide plate from the lightemitting element and is guided in the light guide plate is reflected ina direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the light, andthis reflected light runs straight in the light guide plate in a stateperpendicular to the prisms. Thus, the bright line spectrums shown inFIG. 58 are generated. However, in the present invention, the reflectedlight is reflected to the upper and lower surface sides of the lightguide plate, so that the bright line spectrums are not generated.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 68–69, the display member (dial 56) hasa light transmission property, and a solar panel (160) is disposed in alower surface side of the display member.

According to the embodiment, since the display member has a lighttransmission property, the display member can be disposed on the upperor lower surface of the light guide plate. Therefore, since the externallight passes through the light guide plate and the display portion fromthe upper surface side toward he lower surface side in the bright place,the external light can be radiated to the solar panel. Thus, electricpower can be generated by the solar panel efficiently. When the lightfrom the light source is guided to the light guide plate to illuminatethe lower surface side of the light guide plate, if the display memberis disposed in the lower surface side of the light guide plate, thedisplay member can be illuminated from the upper surface side. Also, ifthe display member is disposed in the upper surface side of the lightguide plate, the light radiated from the light guide plate is reflectedfrom the solar panel and the reflected light passes through the lightguide plate. Thus, the display members can be illuminated from the lowersurface side.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 65–73, the display member comprises afirst display member (dial 56, first liquid crystal display element 165)having a light transmission property and a second display member (liquidcrystal display element 10, second liquid crystal display element 166)having a light reflection property, and the light guide plate (24) isdisposed between the first and the second display members.

According to the embodiment, when the light from the light source isguided in the light guide plate to be radiated to the second displaymember, this radiated light is reflected from the second display memberwhich has a light transmission property. This reflected light passesthrough the light guide plate from the lower surface side toward theupper surface side, and the light which passes through the light guideplate illuminates the first display member having a light transmissionproperty. Thus, the first display member can be recognized, andinformation displayed on the second display member through the firstdisplay member and the light guide plate can be recognized. Accordingly,information displayed on both of the first and second display memberscan be recognized.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 70–73, the display member comprises afirst display member (first liquid crystal display element 165) of alight transmission type for electrooptically displaying information anda second display member (second liquid crystal display element 166) of areflection type for electrooptically displaying information.

According to the embodiment, when the light from the light source isguided in the light guide plate and is radiated to the second displayelement, the light is reflected from the reflection type second displayelement. This reflected light passes through the light guide plate fromthe lower surface side toward the upper surface side to be radiated tothe transmission type first display element from the lower surface side.Thus information displayed on the first display element can berecognized and information displayed on the second display memberthrough the first display member and the light guide plate can berecognized. Accordingly, information displayed on both of the first andsecond display members can be recognized.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 39–76, an electronic apparatuscomprising the illumination device (6) as claimed in claim 18-and adevice case (case 1, 180) for storing the illumination device, whereinthe device case is provided with a window portion (2, 181) correspondingto the display portion (13, 56, 15, 10, 165, 166) of the illuminationdevice.

According to the embodiment, since the lower surface side of the lightguide plate can be illuminated by the illumination device, the displaymember disposed in the lower surface side of the light guide plate canbe excellently illuminated. Moreover, the display member can berecognized through the window portion of the light guide plate and thedevice case from outside of the device case.

1. An illumination device comprising: a light source to radiate light; alight guide plate to receive the light radiated from the light sourcethrough a side surface of the light guide plate and to guide thereceived light in a surface direction of an upper surface and a lowersurface of the light guide plate to perform a surface emission; a handmember disposed at an upper surface side of the light guide plate; and aliquid crystal display member at a lower surface side of the light guideplate; wherein the light guide plate comprises: an upper illuminatingportion to guide the received light from the light source in the surfacedirection and to radiate the light toward the upper surface side of thelight guide plate; a lower illuminating portion to guide the receivedlight from the light source in the surface direction and to radiate thelight toward the lower surface side of the light guide plate, whereinthe lower illuminating portion comprises a plurality of line-shapedprisms having reflection surfaces on the upper surface of the lightguide plate, wherein each of the reflection surfaces of the line-shapedprisms is configured to reflect the light guided in the light guideplate toward the lower surface side of the light guide plate, andwherein each of the line-shaped prisms is provided to be approximatelyin parallel with a line connecting the light source and a portion of aside surface of the light guide plate which faces the light source; anda side surface reflection portion provided on a side surface of thelight guide plate adjacent to the lower illuminating portion, to reflectlight which is transmitted straight through the lower illuminatingportion and reaches the side surface of the light guide plate toward aninside of the lower illuminating portion; wherein the upper illuminatingportion comprises a fine concavo-convex portion formed on the lowersurface of the light guide plate, and the concavo-convex portiondiffusely reflects the light guided in the light guide plate toward thehand member disposed at the upper surface side of the light guide plate.2. The illumination device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising areflection plate disposed on a lower surface of the upper illuminatingportion.
 3. The illumination device as claimed in claim 1, wherein thelower illuminating portion comprises: a first illuminating regioncomprising a first prism provided to be approximately in parallel withthe line connecting the light source the portion of the side surface ofthe light guide plate which faces the light source, and a secondilluminating region comprising a second prism provided to beapproximately in parallel with the line connecting the light source andthe portion of the side surface of the light guide plate which faces thelight source; and wherein the side surface reflecting portion comprises:a first side surface reflection region for reflecting light which istransmitted straight through the lower illuminating portion and reachesthe surface of the light guide plate, toward inside of the lowerilluminating portion; and a second side surface reflection region forreflecting light which is transmitted straight through the lowerilluminating portion and reaches the side surface of the light guideplate, toward inside of the lower illuminating portion.
 4. Theillumination device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light sourcecomprises a first light emitting element disposed at a predeterminedposition of an outer peripheral portion of the light guide plate locatedadjacent to the upper illuminating portion, and a second light emittingelement disposed at a predetermined position of the outer peripheralportion of the light guide plate located adjacent to the lowerilluminating portion, and the first and the second light emittingelements emit light with respective different colors.
 5. Theillumination device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lowerilluminating portion comprises a first illuminating region for radiatinglight from the first light emitting element toward the lower surfaceside of the light guide plate, and a second illuminating region forradiating light from the second light emitting element toward the lowersurface side of the light guide plate.
 6. The illumination device asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the light source comprises a first lightemitting element disposed at a predetermined position of an outerperipheral portion of the light guide plate located adjacent to theupper illuminating portion, and a second light emitting element disposedat a predetermined position of the outer peripheral portion of the lightguide plate located adjacent to the lower illuminating portion; whereinone of the first and the second light emitting elements emits light in avisible ray region, and the other emits light in an ultraviolet rayregion; and wherein the hand member comprises a light emitting portionfor emitting light in a visible ray region in response to light in anultraviolet ray region.
 7. The illumination device as claimed in claim1, wherein the hand member moves above a dial having a lighttransmission property.
 8. The illumination device as claimed in claim 7,further comprising a solar panel which is disposed on the lower surfaceof the light guide plate and has an opening portion corresponding to theliquid crystal display member.
 9. An electronic apparatus comprising theillumination device as claimed in claim 1 and a device case for storingthe illumination device, wherein the device case includes a windowportion to expose the hand member of the illumination device.